Sea Change

Somewhere in eastern Oregon at the top of a long hill I came upon a sea of golden grain. The sun was just right and a whisper of a breeze made mock flames of the waving grain. This sea had no end, it appeared to climb the horizon-- a tidal wave to an ethereal shore. The sky was a blue I never knew, and the air seemed mine alone. I knew i was previewing paradise. I lingered to lengthen the moment buoyed by this landlocked sea. I saw it ages ago, but it is alive and free. In reverie, the grain is still sheeted gold, a breeze still fashions the grains as flames, and the sea yet ascends the horizon. The scene forever changes me.