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.