clouds like foaming tide
lapping at the foothill shore
even on a day
when the air quality here
is the fifth worst in the world
this place is still so beautiful
despite the grocery prices
and the ever reaching fire smoke
and the red eyed traffic lines
and the screaming silence
left in place of the buffalo herds
this place is beautiful still
but there’s an edge to that beauty
for we live in the shadow
of the curse of Chief Niwot
of a curse we cast on ourselves
Niwot said the beauty here
would be its destruction
that we would be so hungry
to take it all in
that we would ruin it
and there is so much ruin
the highways
the Rocky Flats
the garbage dumps
the brand new hotels
not to mention
the hell of our minds
the hell of the internet
and all the chaos it feeds
but so much too remains
look to the high alpine river water
catching the light like gold
listen to the rut wail of elk
smell the pine pollen breeze
hold it all
while it still remains
and for a while I believe
in the old chief’s curse
perhaps there is an unsaid aspect
of this old truth
which is that yes
our endless appetites
our smog and cityscapes
will eat up what was once here
but in this too
we will consume ourselves as well
and maybe one day
the mountains will bloom
uninhabited by us
again
perhaps the curse
is just the first part
and then comes the blessing

Alexander Shalom Joseph is an award winning poet, writer and playwright from Gilpin County, and is the author of seven published books. You can find his work and more information about him at www.alexandershalomjoseph.com.