is the aromatic Salvia

     the high desert bloom

     the scent of inland Oregon

     the one I would retrieve, could I

 are the hills 

     are the exposed ribbons 

     of hard rock that remain after

     the soft scree has flowed to the ocean

is the scent 

     I choose to associate with you

     and the night we spent under the stars 

     the red rocks behind us, the river running near.