They lounge in chairs
on a rise above the creek
where quail and cattle
call home: a small fire
grills burgers and fish
freshly caught – the sizzle
the smell, the smoke.
A gathering of introverts:
suspicious but sentimental.
We do it for the kids
they might have said, as they
play in recently cut prairie
grass tinged with red dirt
and stickers – another says:
It’s good to be together again.
Even God sometimes needs
a time out. Sorting sheep
from goats gets old
playing hide-and-go-seek
while the setting sun
kisses the moody stars.
first published in Concho River Review
31 no1. Spring/Summer 2017