Moments of Magic
Just a couple of poems for a day of gratitude.
November Butterfly
A yellow leaf fluttered oddly. Curious, I checked where it fell And found to my astonishment A tiny eurema lisa supping From the broad banquet table Of a dandelion. It's November! Thanksgiving is days away. Snow is predicted for tomorrow. I wondered if this really was A butterfly. Perhaps, it's a space traveler Caught in the jet stream Of a Leonid meteor. And the dandelion? Its leaves splay around it Like a tattered dress Sodden and gray Yet its disc gleams With inner light. The traveler spent the whole afternoon Gorging on nectar. As sunlight faded to dusk, The butterfly moved on, Leaving the flower drained And wilted among the fallen leaves.
Just around the corner and over the rise …
Shiprock looms up from a bleak desert floor Its size never changes as we move along the way Turning at the end of town we face it once more It rises like a ship on the high sea's waves A rain-slick trail skirts a misty valley's edge Then turns a corner facing red rock walls I stand there stunned as I gaze from the ledge At pure water spilling from three waterfalls Driving up to Bodie through sage and grassy hills We peak the rise and see them all grazing in the dell As we open our doors, we feel the sudden thrill Of crystalline ringing from a hundred tinkling bells.
If you enjoyed this post feel free to explore other poems, essays, and stories in the Ring Around the Basin Archive. I also love to read your comments, so please share your thoughts. Let’s start a conversation. And if you wish to support my writings, please consider subscribing or upgrading to a paid subscription. It’s now only $50/year. Even better, I would appreciate it if you could share Ring Around the Basin with your friends. Thank you!top photo by Sue Cauhape.
All my books, Paradise Ridge, When the Horses Come and Go, and Ghost in the Forest are currently available on Kindle. Ghost in the Forest, is also available in paperback for ten bucks. Paradise Ridge is out-of-print, but the Kindle version is re-edited and better quality. Hard copies of “When the Horses Come and Go” are gone unless that dusty box in the corner still has some.
Book Review of Ghost in the Forest:
"Ghost in The Forest" is a great read! Take note People. If you love stories about environmentalism and nature, its clash with urban mindsets, as well as personal transformation, this is the book for you!
"Ghost in The Forest" is a quick 126-page read. It's the story of Dori, a woman trapped in a mix of grief over parental loss and refusing to accept how her hometown and her friends have changed over the years. Because of this, Dori has become a recluse and a self-imposed misanthrope who finds more comfort amongst the hiking trails around her hometown of Morristown than in her dealings with the raw reality of other humans.
The book, in some ways, resembled Edward Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire” in that the story follows a protagonist's love of nature and angst about humans encroaching on it. In this case, it’s how Morristown is transforming into a mountain biking destination where cyclists run rampant on trails and nature.
However, a tragedy involving said mountain biking becomes a major pivot point for Dori, leading to a series of events that eventually bring about personal evolution and discovery.
If you're a nature lover, this book is a must-read. It beautifully portrays the clash between environmentalism and urban mindsets and the journey of personal transformation. The book's vivid descriptions of nature and the protagonist's love for it will surely intrigue you.
Paradise Ridge Review by western author D. B. Jackson:
If you draw circle roughly around an area that includes northern Nevada, southern Oregon, and southern Idaho, within that circle exists a culture and people who live a lifestyle largely untouched by modern values. These are the "buckaroos" and Basque characters author Sue Cauhape brings to life in her literary novel, "Paradise Ridge".
Leandro, the illegitimate seventh son of patriarch Xavier Arriaga and his mistress, Gisela, is at the center of this intriguing story that travels exceedingly successfully at both the personal level of the characters, as well as the compelling level where the story is told.
Cauhape writes in a literary style that reminds me of Annie Poulx. Paradise Ridge, on the surface, appears to be an upscale Western novel...once inside the pages, you will soon discover a potential classic waiting to be discovered.
I rated this book a 5...because that's all the stars there were.