Spruce & Sagebrush

small stories from a large landscape

Essays & Poems

Short essays and poems born of the southern Rocky Mountains and deserts of the Colorado Plateau

What the Sun Sees

I wait to be warmed encouraged by the mourning doveswho coo the sun to risingand comfort my broken heart.  Safe in […]

Nothing to See Here

“The true heart of a place does not come in a week’s vacation. To know it well, as Mary Austin […]

80 & Change

From eighty miles awaythey come separately in the same cartheir strong old tether stretched to the breaking point.One has seventy, […]

Why I Try

Lazing on the warm Dakota Sandstone, we gulped in the spring desert sun like thirsty hikers as we gazed at […]

Out of Place

It was one of the few freezing cold days of winter with lows around zero and highs we hoped would […]

Even the River

Even the river surrendersdrop by drop to deep winterflows slowly into stillnessas its clear conviction clouds with languor. Sliding by […]

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Copyright © 2024 Spruce & Sagebrush by Karen Bellerose

Spruce and Sagebrush