When a rainbow appeared
touching down across the brushy hills
at the foot of the mountain facing
we stopped cleaning up after dinner
pulled our chairs together on the porch
and sat for the rainbow show
as the misty air blew through
and the low light lit the yellow hills
with long shadows like warm morning light.
The rainbow faded as the magpies gathered
just over the hill, no longer bright
as everything began to slip into its dusky attire
shadows vanished and where the rainbow was
no rainbow, the prismatic air invisible again
and through it all a nearby cricket played its violin legs
steadily with only brief pauses till the concert ended
leaving only a chatter of chirping
and the creaking of the kettle beginning to boil.
The magic hour over
dogs barked across the hills
and silence rose where the wind was.
Taos, NM
July 18, 2017