Entering Texas

What I wouldn't give to share this beauty with someone special.
Alas, I have only my pencil and paper,
so later I may describe it to you.

But how does one explain
the simple way
the fog caresses the cars driving through it,
embracing them in a cold comfort
so completely isolating
they can barely see the car next to them?

How do you thrill the senses
with simple words
when what you're trying to describe
is so remarkably breathtaking
that it leaves you speechless,
wordless?
You can't.
You're so awed by such a simple beauty
that you can do nothing more than let your eyes watch,
trying to absorb some of that beauty into your soul.

Then suddenly,
you turn a corner
and the capitalist world hits you hard.
A half hour isn't that long,
but it is long enough that
by the time you leave the McDonald's parking lot
the fog has been burned away by the early morning sun,
and the only thought you have left is

"Damn I could use a decent cup of coffee".

Later you may reflect that that simple sunrise
was more moving than seeing the St. Louis arch,
or anything else on your trip,
save a wedding.
Moving enough to kick you out of a slump
of writer's block
and force your hand to
write the words you haven't had the time to write.