In sleep, I drift through unfamiliar landscapes, scanning rock formations for other signs of life, feeling like a space traveller, far from green fields and horizons lined with oak and birch.
In the distance, a cow is screaming across the arroyo. Its powerful anguish metamorphoses into a dust devil, a column of sand towering above rocks and giant cacti. It whips me into its arms and spins me into the arroyo. My feet barely skim the surface of the dried-out riverbed, wide as a small town and deeper than my dream.
On the other side, the cow is caught in a tangle of roots. a gnarly grip on the cow’s spindly legs. Its eyes flash acknowledgement, then turn dull as it writhes in pain. I reach for it with both hands, grasp its neck and tug.
I wake up in a desperate quilted embrace.
Kim M. Russell, 9th December 2019
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Prosery: Jim Harrison
Linda is our host for this Monday’s Prosery, the seventh, and she has given us a line from Jim Harrison’s poem ‘Cow’: “A cow is screaming across the arroyo.” I had to look up the word ‘arroyo’. Tricky!
writing in north norfolk 
Excellent story telling Kim!
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I’m pleased you enjoyed it, Linda!
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The nightmarish feel of this where you desperately try to save the cow is excellent… your flying across the arroyo with it’s water
“wide as a small town and deeper than my dream.” is truly excellent.
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Thank you, Bjorn!
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The powerful pull of anguish, the layered landscape of your dream world is so beautifully presented! I love this!
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I love the part where the anguish metamorphoses into a dust devil. Sounds like important messages from the dream world!
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Thank you, Jade!
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You’re welcome 🙂
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A Western nightmare dreamscape, very clever; great sense of place with macabre touches. I liked this one a lot. I was thinking of using a dream, but went with first person reality.
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Thanks Glenn. I’m only just up but will be over to read and comment shortly.
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Love how you’ve done this–our dreams so frequently integrate what’s happening around us. 🙂
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Thank you, Sascha! Dreams can seem so real, although I’ve never been in a desert or seen an arroyo. It’s amazing how the brain collects and processes details.
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I like the description of the arroyo as “deeper than my dream”.
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Thank you, Frank.
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A dream! That’s a great vehicle for the prompt. (K)
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Thanks Kerfe!
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Love the dream-scape, sculpted like a quilt.
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Thank you, Namy!
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I love this!I too had to look up the word Arroyo.
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Thank you, Mary!
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I was hoping this would be a dream. Wish mine was.
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Thanks Judy. I’ve just got up so I’ll be reading and commenting shortly.
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You used a similar device, Kim, writing distanced by a dream. Extremely space-specific prompts are difficult to work around. This worked well.
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Thank you, Jane.
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🙂
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If seeing a cow in a dream is a sign of prosperity or happiness, could this be the fear of losing that?
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For me, living in the UK, where there are no arroyos that I know of, it could mean losing my mind!
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The “I woke up and it was all a dream” trick! Kim, I’m surprised at you ;). Still, you made it your own, and that quilted embrace is very relatable.
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LOL! To be honest, I struggled with the arroyo. The only cows I know graze on the flat fields of Norfolk. The quilted embrace, on the other hand, is something I know well. 🙂
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Much nicer. All those suffering cows.
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True.
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“wide as a small town and deeper than my dream.”
Delightful story telling
Much✏love
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Thank you, Gillena! 🙂
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“wide as a small town and deeper than my dream.” Truly excellent description. I enjoyed this storytelling a lot! And the photo is a perfect example of desolate beauty.
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Thank you so much, Margaret!
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Oh my! Its eyes…..haunting detail! And waking up tied up in the quilt…that dream so real you reacted in your sleep to the physical thing nearest to you. Well done! I hope this dream does not materialize for you! Better to have those cats snuggling on your feet 🙂
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Luna’s usually on my feet and Mojo gets comfy on my hip! 🙂
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