Ride the San Juan

Grand Prize winning entry in the San Juan County Public Lands Story Contest.

by Janet Keeler Wilcox

Lead me down your snaky trails
of twisting paths and flinty glaze
to ocher canyons etched in fire
by sunlight’s lofty rays.
Ride me o’er your slate blue riffs
As canyon shadows fall,
Where night birds dance above the lake
And lonely eagles call.
Toss me high on rugged waves
Douse me ‘til I’m blue,
Bounce me through the rocky course
where voyagers are few.
Swirl me past your eddies
Etched by frothy hue.
Take me to your glens and coves
that Anasazi knew.
Wind me ‘round your sandstone fjords
Of sandwiched mauves and grey,
Circle me with stony walls
That time has worn away.
Spray me down your waterfalls
Sooth me in your pools.
Shower me o’er your coral ridge
Where sandstone calmness rules.
Hide me in your tombs of jade
Where elusive peace lies still,
And mirrored reflections tranquilize
the agitated will.
Guide me to the journey’s end
To canyons sprayed with gold
Where calm respite is heaven sent
And river tales are told.