I am a dichotomy. Both rushing river and dried up river. Mountain framed by off-green and tan scrub. Mountain with springs flowing down. Cactus wren and crow. Rattlesnake and adder.

I was born in the desert and now live by the bay. My view framed with green hills. Death to life.

As I journey with family to grieve together, I feel the tension. I love this southwest landscape but it is now alien. A foreign land I once knew well. I have traded turquoise for tartan for that is where I am needed. That is where home is.