Beginning cautiously near the border territory,
Summing up its origins, the rains come quickly,
Interrogating the terrain, its jurisdiction of influence;
Two countries, indistinguishable at their shared seam.

Westward course scheduled on the slick road,
Tight to the hillside, a window’s outlook held briefly,
The car’s speed allowing a half recognition,
Untranslatable, familiar by significance if not by sight. 

The signs conclude with an arrival, an understanding,
Where the land terminates through valley and field,
Marked by a serpentine line into memory,
Its trails sounding with expectations unfulfilled.

Slipping anonymous and unnoticed through
Its preserved heart, the soil whose language failed,
Whose prospects were relinquished, I remember
What was given; I ask my questions to the rain.