Saguaro

 

My son, the time has come for you to learn

the proper way to act around our saguaro cactus.

Don’t touch it.  Don’t hit it with a stick

and don’t hit it with anything else.

Remember where the cactus is

so you don’t accidentally run into it

when you’re playing

hide-and-go-seek or capture the flag.

All you do is look at it.  Keep looking.

One of these days you’ll appreciate this saguaro.

One of these days you’ll be glad this cactus is here.

One of these days you’ll be lonely, and when you are,

come outside and sit next to this cactus.

Sit down in the dirt

or go get a folding chair from the shed.

Look at the cactus for a while and

look away for a while.

The important thing is that you’re near the cactus,

within five feet, for a long time.

Doesn’t it feel good to be

next to a giant, silent, living thing?

And one of these days the monsoons will come.

The sky will darken in the summer afternoon,

rain will pour from the clouds to the earth,

and the wind will blow and blow and blow,

and in the wind,

the branches of the mesquite trees will sway,

the paddles of the prickly pear will sway,

but the arms of the saguaro cactus will not sway.

When the storm passes, if you wait a while,

you’ll see a lizard climbing among the needles,

and a cardinal perched on the saguaro’s peak.

This saguaro cactus will stand upright,

sturdy as a stone, letting those animals visit.