On A Desert Night North of Palm Springs: A Poem
On A Desert Night North of Palm Springs: A Poem
It was on a still and tranquil desert night
underneath canopy of stars shining bright
that we rode an old fashioned mule train up into the hills
the night was warm and devoid of chills
along the San Andreas fault the trail ran
a long narrow crack along desert sand
It was frightening to see above ground this famous fault that for Southern California could spell such woe
if the earth plates choose to massively shift and let chaos go
But San Andreas would show no signs of rage tonight
as desert sunset merged with evening twilight
The mules pulled us up to the dinner tent
with our burro friends it was time well spent
and now to our meals our little tour group would go
and mirth and good conversation would bubble and flow
The singer with guitar went from table to table and sang sweet melody
on the backdrop of starlit evening desert so far from the sea
Our table was the last to which he did come
you’d think he’d be tired but with his magical guitar his fingers did strum
and when it looked like he had finished his play
my father smiled, did turn to him and say
You remind me of a singer I listened to on the radio as a boy
whose voice and his songs filled my parents’ house with joy
Jimmie Rodgers was his name
of country music fame
for there was a later Jimmie Rodgers who a couple of decades later also sang
as the clock marking the decade of the ’50s rang.
The singer stopped putting his guitar back into his case
he stopped and looked at my father’s face
Said he, that’s quite the supreme compliment to have compared me to either one
He once again played his guitar, the music had not stopped but only begun
And the music to our small table the singer continued to play
And the songs echoed over desert and hills to places far way.
-A poem written by Christopher
Friday April 17th 2015.
-inspired by a magical night spent with my dad and our tour group on a desert hill just north of Palm Springs, California back in January 1997.
Dracul Van Helsing 