Spring Break: Beside the Hotel Pool with my child, after Hiking Enchanted Rock, after they Survived Brain Cancer

Water ripples ice cold, light sea blue in the breeze. 

Sun bright and hot, we dip our toes in. 

This morning, we hiked through cacti and brush 

in the dusty, dry hills of Texas country. 

Sun beating down as we found our way on, then 

away from, then back to the trail. 

We listened to chirping calls from a cardinal, a goldfinch, a titmouse, 

watched the cardinal’s red crown as he glided from branch to branch. 

The tufted gray titmouse stood small and proud, his call 

short and loud, then a fuller-throated, longer song. 

A bright yellow honeybee buzzed into our iced sugary treats, 

enjoying a taste of mango with his feelers. 

The hum of conversations, the air and the nearby road fading 

as we walked further, stopping at the trail’s end. 

In shady quiet, a hushed few moments. 

The tall red rock in the distance, our steps behind.