Serenity and Severity
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Volume 5, Manifest West Series, Western Press Books
Serenity and severity form a classic Western dichotomy with many manifestations. Beautiful growth and renewal follow a terrifying and destructive forest fire. Rain upon a hayfield can be interpreted as grace or judgment from above, depending on the season. The unpredictability of nature provides hikers with a breathtaking view one day and a life-threatening scenario the next. Yet the nature of the West does not only imply the outdoors. The people of the West encounter serenity and severity in all aspects of life, and this duality impacts their identity and shapes their lifestyles, outlooks, worldviews, and values. This year’s collection includes political discussions, philosophical ponderings, and lighthearted humor that are all a part of life in the West.
For the fifth volume of Manifest West, twenty-nine writers explore this theme, revealing the duality of Western life through many different narrative trails—including governed environment, overwhelming fires, hiking adventures, and the effect of location on family. Creativity and diversity come to this anthology in both content and form, with flash fiction joining Manifest West’s standard genres of creative nonfiction, short fiction, and poetry. Their combined reflections enable us to see the intense relationship between humanity and nature; sometimes nature directs humans’ lives, to their harm and to their benefit, and other times, humanity abuses the very environment it cherishes as its home. Authors bring their personal styles, voices, and experiences with life in the West to contribute to a balanced and unique interpretation of serenity and severity.
Contributors: Rebecca Aronson, Betsy Bernfeld, Heidi E. Blankenship, Kaye Lynne Booth, Sarah B. Boyle, John Brantingham, William Cass, David Lavar Coy, Benjamin Dancer, Gail Denham, Patricia Frolander, John Haggerty, Lyla D. Hamilton, Michael Harty, Rick Kempa, Don Kunz, Ellaraine Lockie, Nathan Alling Long, Sarah Fawn Montgomery, Juan J. Morales, Lance Nizami, Ronald Pickett, Terry Severhill, David Stallings, Scott T. Starbuck, Abigail Van Kirk, Victoria Waddle, Evan Morgan Williams, Steven Wingate
Manifest West is Western Press Books’ literary anthology series. The press, affiliated with Western State Colorado University, produces one anthology annually and focuses on Western regional writing.
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Serenity and Severity - Caleb Seeling
Manifest West
Serenity and Severity
WESTERN PRESS BOOKS
GUNNISON, COLORADO
Manifest West. Copyright © 2016 by Western Press Books
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author of the work in question.
ISBN: 978-1-60732-591-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016936122
Published in the United States of America
Western Press Books
Gunnison, Colorado
Cover image: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
The Burn, Four Years After
by Rick Kempa was previously published in Keeping the Quiet by Rick Kempa (Bellowing Ark Press).
Plowshares
by John Haggerty was previously published in MacGuffin (Schoolcraft College).
Tracking
by Nathan Alling Long was previously published in Glimmer Train (Glimmer Train Press) and Mother Knows (Washington Square Press).
The Luckiest Boy in the World
by William Cass was previously published in POPLORISH (Old Growth Northwest).
ISBN-13: 978-1-60732-592-5 (electronic)
STAFF
EDITOR
Caleb Seeling
CONSULTING EDITOR
Mark Todd
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Sheena Feiler
Sapphire Heien
DESIGN & LAYOUT
Sonya Unrein
CONTENTS
Introduction
NATURE’S DUPLICITOUS EMBRACE
Abigail Van Kirk
To Colorado, and Her Fickle Nature
Gail Denham
All Night Vigil . . . Waiting for Fire
Lance Nizami
Fourteens from Thirty
Rebecca Aronson
Los Alamos Fire
The First Act
Home
Scott T. Starbuck
Canyon
Ronald Pickett
The Desert Night
Evan Morgan Williams
Anasazi
Nathan Alling Long
Tracking
Kaye Lynne Booth
Yucca! Yucca! Yucca!
Sarah Fawn Montgomery
Pioneer
Altar
THE STORM OF CIVILIZATION
Sarah B. Boyle
The Beast of the Plains
Heidi E. Blankenship
Condor #122
Betsy Bernfeld
Sudden Storm
David Lavar Coy
Long Drive at Night through the Saguaro Forest
David Stallings
Cold and Clear
Juan J. Morales
Driving to Albuquerque
John Brantingham
1850
Terry Severhill
ENVIRONMENT
John Haggerty
Plowshares
Rick Kempa
Thirst and Water (excerpt)
GROWTH AND RESURGENCE
Rick Kempa
The Burn, Four Years After
William Cass
The Luckiest Boy in the World
Scott T. Starbuck
Truant
David Lavar Coy
Fear of Electricity
Blackouts on the Ranch
Michael Harty
Hoarding the Rain
Benjamin Dancer
Time Out of Mind
Patricia Frolander
Bequest
Lyla D. Hamilton
Bum Lambs
Don Kunz
Lost in the Wasatch
Ellaraine Lockie
Dignity’s Dirty Little Secret
In the Language of Dark
Victoria Waddle
Marathon Fire
Steven Wingate
Octet in Praise of Colorado’s Viscera
CONTRIBUTOR NOTES
Contributor Notes
About the Staff
Introduction
The stark dichotomy of serenity and severity permeates the everyday, commonplace for those of us living in the West. Each of us observes the beautiful contrast of severe peaks and sharp precipices over the smooth serenity of valley floors and meadows as we drive through the many ranges that our region houses. Those of us who hike, raft, ski, run, and otherwise enjoy ourselves in Mother Nature know all too well that any shift in temperature or condition can be equally dazzling and deadly. Our ranchers are equally aware of this paradox, for rain and heat can both cultivate or destroy crops, depending on which season they occupy.
Yes, the nature of the West is both serene and severe—but this nature is not only of the outdoor variety. Our independent way of living can save us or strand us; conversely, our dedication to family can provide a network of others whose needs and desires we not only feel obligated to consider, but live to fulfill. The nature around us, the nature of our lives, and each of our individual natures are intertwined.
This complex theme offers numerous possible approaches, yet some are so interrelated that they are best understood in the context of each other. We have arranged this issue’s selections into three categories, each representing a different interplay between humans, animals, nature, and the Western way of life. In Nature’s Duplicitous Embrace,
the ways in which nature holds us and shapes us, both through love and beauty, and pain and tragedy, are dissected. In contrast, The Storm of Civilization
investigates ways in which civilization and humanity affect and abuse the environment around us, and how our acts against nature return and impact our lives. Finally, Growth and Resurgence
journeys through humans coming of age within nature, their personal growth as a direct result of the serenity and severity surrounding them, and nature’s growth in spite of humanity and itself.
How better to explore the myriad of ways in which Western life embodies the serenity-severity dichotomy than through the voices of Westerners and West-lovers from diverse walks of life? In this fifth issue of Manifest West, twenty-nine writers offer their perspectives on the serenity and severity of life in our region. Representing various experiences and career paths, our writers range from those whom we may expect to be intimately acquainted with this duality—forest rangers, photographers, geographers, and ranchers—to the philosophers, lawyers, librarians, and military members whose own experiences are critical to rounding out our understanding of the serenity and severity of the land we call home.
Their submissions graced us in the shapes of short fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and—for the first time—flash fiction. Given the complexity of this issue’s focus, what can we expect other than a panoramic interpretation of the theme in a diversity of forms?
NATURE’S DUPLICITOUS EMBRACE
ABIGAIL VAN KIRK
To Colorado, and Her Fickle Nature
Keep me shaking,
keep me shivering,
caress me with tendrils
of apathetic cold,
and I will learn to love
your stark unstable seasons.
Frigidity balances fiery hearts
and perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to You.
GAIL DENHAM
All Night Vigil . . . Waiting for Fire
We held hands, five of us, perched on porch steps.
We watched gray columns of smoke rise above
forests we loved—columns surrounded us on three
sides. We could hear distant flames crackle
as the fire gobbled trees, brush—news reported homes
lost. We held hands, prayed for the brave ones trudging
through that madness with shovels, hoes, and ditch diggers.
I couldn’t imagine facing that inferno head on. God keep them.
Mom, do I have to leave my rabbits?
Frankie was subdued.
I could only nod. My mind sorted: some family photos
and important papers gathered, but my doll collection, Vic’s
artwork left behind. Dog cages stood ready. What did we forget?
Our car was packed, so full we might not all fit. Slowly
the sky blossomed with a sunset glow we’d never forget—
oranges, purples, brilliant red, as if the flames had shot
to the clouds and deliberately colored our skies.
Grandma Bertie brought out sandwiches—thick ham
on her homemade bread, upside down cake with fresh
peaches, hot and steaming, cold sodas. "Don’t want
to waste this fresh fruit. Eat! It’ll cheer you. After,
let’s play that guessing game you kids like."
We sat outside nearly all night, fetching blankets and pillows
against the cool; Rachel and Frankie with heads on our laps;
waiting, hoping, praying. Grandma’s rocker kept a steady
rhythm. Sprinklers whipped, wetting the roof; water dripped.
Suddenly, peeking from between two smoke columns, a full
moon appeared. There it was—strange, tinted red, but whole
and beautiful. Like a promise from God that fire might not
leap to consume our world this time. A promise that whatever
happened, there was order in the heavens.
LANCE NIZAMI
Fourteens from Thirty
A textured sea of wrinkled white recedes beneath the aeroplane
Colorado, colored white: the first sub-zero snows of Colorado
And here we cruise at thirty thousand feet
It’s warm inside the cabin, and we soon forget the chill dry air outside
The chill dry air extends down to the land
It’s Colorado, dry in winter, dry enough to turn men’s skin to parchment
Colorado, white-flake-covered autumn Colorado, I can see you
November’s barely here and plains and mountains lost their contours to the snow
And deep within the mountain valleys, elk will huddle in the bush, invisible
The streams are frozen over; beavers, fat with bark, sleep silent in their lodges
Colorado, Colorado; chilled and silent, little but a mouse disturbs the quietness
And far below me, flakes begin to fall; they’re gently smoothing all to white
in Colorado.
REBECCA ARONSON
Los Alamos Fire
The city held its breath.
That is, we in the city held our breath.
The dog-walkers tugged leashes to a slow stroll
while dogs panted for speed.
The neighbors with their cream skin and kewpie eyes
rolled toward one another in the morning light.
The woman with a once-dark braid
gave stern instructions to her damaged son.
We simmered together with sore lungs and waited.
The air became visible
and settled around us seared particles
of forests. As odor contains remnants
of its object, my head aches with crumbled monuments
and spoiled crops, with the charred bodies of deer and wood mice,
radioactive ash the burning ground releases.
No one has said a grave is not a grave
when the buried thing still lives.
No one says it’s time to leave.
REBECCA ARONSON
The First Act
There’s wildfire
sheering the mountain,
leaving a smear of ash for a coat, cindering
knots of trees and abandoned hides.
What’s left is a scorched shell so brittle
seedlings will storm through the surface.
From down here it will seem a riot of green gems
has erupted, a sleek new skin
to mask the burning city
which hovers at the periphery of sleep
coveting breath. We choose our dangers.
This high desert, piñons torchy
among parched understory, electrical sky,
radioactive remnants simmering in red rock,
this gun with its invisible trigger.
REBECCA ARONSON
Home
I wake blind in a striped cell.
I wake from a hot, black sleep
to find the sun, a manhole cover,
stomped down tight. I move through a field
of dry stalks rustling a reedy cantata,
woodwind in hollow sands, the music
of shrew and ragweed.
I came here for a mountain.
I came here for a poet. I came here
for something I imagined about horses.
I fell into a snake hole that held me.
When the rains came I was released
as high tide releases driftwood from the