NONFICTION
Ruidoso Red
by Lynn Edge
February at the Village Lodge. Storm warning for Ruidoso, New Mexico. Does severe weather in the Sacramento mountains mean rain or snow?
midnight winds
through the ponderosas —
low moans
The next morning a red fog floats between lofty pines. At home on the Texas Coast, cold fronts chill me. Here in the thick forest only the tops of pines reveal strong winds. We drive to the intersection of Sudderth, and a pink tinged haze covers the road sloping toward Midtown. What is this? My husband stops at a gas station and asks another customer if he knows of a restaurant open for breakfast. The man points across the street.
In the Ruidoso Grill, I choose a booth near a window and watch rusty mists drift outside. I order huevos rancheros, then hear a woman at the next table say, "What a terrible dust storm."
red sands
mix with mountain mists—
dusty rose
Lynn Edge divides her time between the Texas Gulf Coast and the Texas Hill Country. Her haibun have been published in flashquake, Simply Haiku, World Haiku Review, Contemporary Haibun Online, Stylus Literary Journal and other e-zines. Lynn makes several trips each year to New Mexico which provides inspiration for many of her haibun.