Recently the family
and I took a journey into the past, a past that is dear to my soul.
We went from the hustle and bustle in the world we knew to the high desert plains
where not a person could be seen from horizon to horizon. We traveled for miles
and saw little evidence of life.
Then there it was an oasis in the desert. It was a canyon in the middle of nowhere. In this heaven on earth the trees were alive with birds and the grass was green.
As we descended into the canyon there before us laid the ruins of Native American dwellings. The dwellings were from a lost past. It was a sacred place that held me in awe.
As I stood gazing at the beauty a storm rolled in. Thunder shook the canyon, lighting sizzled in the air and a light rain began to fall. I was taken back to a precious time left only in our minds. I could hear the whispers, the whispers of the Indian.
As I marveled at the ancient stone walls I could see the finger prints of the builders dried in the mud. There were black smudges on the walls from fires extinguished centuries ago.
I closed my eyes and I could see whiffs of smoke floating in the air. The shadows came alive, they were ghosts no more. Over to my right was a group of women grinding and pounding what would later feed the tribe. Up ahead were children running and laughing as they played on the shear canyon wall. A band of men appeared carrying the fruits of their hunting trip.
Life here was so simple, no cell phones, no pagers, no sirens, no radio calls.
The dwellings were a part of the nature that surrounded them.
As the rain fell I raised
my face to the heavens and soaked in the beauty of our history.
I felt at home but knew I would have to leave.
As we began our ascent
to the top of the canyon the whispers of the past bid me stay.
I turned and waved farewell to the shadows as the native blood coursing through
my veins cried for me to remain.
I shall hold dear the
time I spent in the canyon.
In my heart there will forever be the whispers of the past.
By Det. Sgt. D. J.
Rogers
Cleburne, Tx. P.D. SWAT