As Night Crept Closer

[Cathedral Gorge State Park - Panaca, Nevada]

As night crept closer…

The cold bit feverishly,

Wherever the vanishing light failed to reach.

Rock formations with their spires and carved out likenesses,

They are nature’s most prized edifices.

As night crept closer…

The slot canyons seemed to narrow ever more,

Light reached only the margins of the ramparts.

The yawning mouth of each chasm,

Stretched into eternity.

As night crept closer…

Sounds of wildlife faded into obscurity.

Ice in the shadows of the gorge solidified.

Remnants of a recent snowstorm,

Confined to patches of the earth where the sun lacks dominion.

As night crept closer…

The fire crackled in the dry air.

The sky turned a deep blue then faded to black,

The worlds above framed a grand universal display,

Emanating a glow that could only be celestial in origin.

As night crept closer…

Frost hung in the air.

Ice crystals seemingly suspended,

Over nature’s church.

Borne of mud and stone,

Sculpted by forces both momentary and seldom witnessed.

As night crept closer…

Cathedral Gorge looms over nearby fields,

With rows that reach into the twilight.

Crops long since cultivated,

Surroundings purposefully made barren.

As night crept closer…

The wind filtered stealthily,

Through an unbroken landscape.

A storm bearing the reluctant tidings of Winter,

Soon to appear on the horizon,

Veiled in darkness,

Heartfelt extremes manifested in a land of enchantment.