I took this photo two semesters ago in my photography class. A group of us met in Fort Churchill and snapped some nighttime shots. This is probably the favorite of mine, and it inspired me enough to write about it. Enjoy!
***
Barely audible but there nonetheless - a low hum. A mumble of sorts and the scraping of rough stones. The sound of falling pebbles and sand - a soft sigh. Almost silent, a whirring and the sound of minuscule movements seep out into the darkness. The coarse desert sand stretches out across the landscape, peppered with dry sagebrush bushes, broken only by thin beige veins of trail.
A rumble comes now, the softest earthquake-mimicking noise. The slow, pained hints of movement come as the sounds of crumbling sandstone. It scatters back into the dusty ground, indistinguishable from the vast expanse of sand that awaited its return.
The earth pulls in slowly against the pained resistance of ancient stone. The scene lies beneath a blanket of unforgiving stars and wails against the dark forces weakly. All of this lost to the average ear, simple whispers into the crisp night air.
The movement continues too slowly for any eye to take note. Weeks, months, and years have passed in quiet agony. Disintegrating little by little at the mercy of earthly forces this small piece of history remains. Wise and worn by weather it calls to the wind that eats at its sandy skin without any response.
Footsteps come clamoring through the darkness, shuffling through the nighttime breeze. In the starlight he can see strands of golden hair crowning the top of a small silhouette. She walks up to inspect his broken walls and peer out into space from within them.
Suddenly, she stops. A moan echos out ever so faintly. The grinding of a great stone mind fueled by the energy of the milky way above makes her turn with curiosity, exploring even closer. She can hear the many stories, feel the ache of old cement bones.
Stepping out, she can see the power it holds still. A soft, long click rings out, swallowed by a gust of wind as she captures the true image. It seems so clear now.
Out of the desolate night emerges a piece of history full of thoughts and wonder. If you look closely you can still see the mind of the night as it slowly decays away.
