We walk through cathedrals of chalk. The place is wild and unfamiliar, although only a few hours from home. With each step the colors change: pink, orange, purple, white. I watch the sun move across your face as our laughter climbs through hoodoos and spires, echoing among canyon walls. We are new to each other, learning one another in this place we’ve never been. We leave a trail of footprints in the dust and I think about how every step changes the landscape. I think about how each person changes us so that we too are never quite the same.
Marisa Gedgaudas is a writer originally from Colorado who now lives on the bluffs of Northern California. She is inspired by wild beauty and tender vulnerability. Instagram: @marisavictoriapoetry