all poems and photographs
© by Maya Stein

all poems and photographs
© by Maya Stein
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Sunday, March 04, 2012

finally, finally






















There is nothing quite like driving north, alone, on an abandoned highway on the east side of Arizona in the middle of a desert at the first stirrings of November. Nothing quite like cracking open the windows and feeling the cool-tinged wind come whistling in, and knowing that no one knows where you are, exactly, and that if the car broke down right now you would have untold miles behind or in front of you to navigate for help. There is nothing quite like knowing the help you would find would be you. That after nearly two months on the road, driving your little silver Echo, you have come home to yourself in the best way, come to rely on your instincts and spontaneous wisdom, come to keep your own good company. There is nothing quite like leaning back in your seat and taking a bite of an apple you bought the day before on the ride out of Sedona, and that sweetness pixilating on your tongue, and how you know in this instant this is what freedom tastes like. There is nothing quite like the impossibly balanced boulders you pass to tell you this is the kind of life you’ve always dreamed of living, and that even if you have to go it alone you will be your own witness, and it won’t feel like alone at all. There is nothing quite like looking at the odometer that has been piling up the miles all these weeks and know that you have it in you to go even further, and how the glance at the mirror reveals eyes that are brighter than you remember, and a face you have finally, finally begun to love.

7 comments:

Hashi said...

Love

quinncreative said...

There is no place like Arizona's wild roads to the horizon to allow you the taste and promise of freedom. And no other place so alone that you realize you must choose it carefully.

Emily said...

Just perfect!

Jennifer said...

So beautifully said. It is amazing what can unfold within us as we take on a new adventure in life.

I love being out on the road and traveling. We never return home the same.

Lissa EuDaly said...

To me, nothing is more satisfying or empowering than being alone in the desert and knowing that no one knows where I am.

Thanks Maya, for expressing this so beautifully.

Pamela Hunt Cloyd said...

Oh this is so wonderful. I drove cross-country when I was 21 and this was exactly what happened as I was driving through the Colorado foothills. You have such a gift.

lichia said...

perfect. thank you.