Tag Archives: death valley

134 In The Shade

134 F on July 10, 191 at Greenland Ranch, California. Elevation -178 Read Death Valley. I was there in 1995. James Steele gets around.

Death Valley Hot

A heat wave smothers the continental USA and the national weathermen are predicting that the temperature in Death Valley might hit 120 today. The manager of the Wrangler Restaurant in Furnace Creek on Tuesday closed the establishment after the ACs went on the blink, saying, “We can’t put customers through this — it’s just too […]

Cold As A Dog’s Tongue

Today 120 in Death Valley. 98 in Brooklyn. Ice cream stick in my hand. A glob of vanilla falls on my foot. Cold spreads on my skin Like frost from a hole in an Inuit’s boot Cold, but not close to zero in winter. And then the cold melts above freezing. A dog looks at […]

A Hobo’s Song

The other day I was driving down Dekalb Avenue and read an open-call sign for workers. DRIFTERS WANTED. I blinked and the offer of paradise vanished jarring my eyes back into focus. DRIVERS WANTED. What a difference a single letter makes, then again I’ve always sought something more than the world has to offer and […]

Poetry In the Ruins

Industrial ruins haunt both sides of the Hudson River. Tall chimneys mark them from a distance. On this winter morning no one is there but me. Walls stand as tombstones. They act as grafitti billboards For my eyes only. Black is our safe shadow. Scream into her earth and cry. Protect with unconditional love. Hold […]