He pitched his tent

In the desert golden hour

Paused for a drink from his Nalgene

Pulled out an analog SLR

Laid flat to snap a shot of the sky

A mix of purple, pinks,

Orange, BLeU

That would emerge

In darkroom time.

He resumed

Built his shelter for the night

To prepare for the Arizonan haboob.

His mother thought

He spent the night

With his friend Danny down the street;

So did Danny.

But Daniel wanted to feel the power

Of the desert skies

Snuck out

Trekked to a ridge

On Pinnacle Peak.

The sky had always been a place

To escape

To find something.

What he was looking for

In that storm of sand, dust, and debris

From who knows where

He did not know.

He put on a gas mask

Taken from his garage

Emerged

Into the sandstorm

To capture night energy

With his dad'

s camcorder

He could die smiling.

The next morning,

Eggs and bacon cooked

On fire-heated stones

He looked up and captured the BLeU

Saw his dreams

In a hazy glitch of a passing cloud

And it was

Absolutely

Beautiful.