Cargo Pants Man

Dawn split heaven from earth 
this morning 
as a long-shadowed figure 
walked toward me 
silhouetted by the rising sun  

cargo pants man 
greeted me with a smile 
he with knapsack filled with tools 
to record the mysteries 
of prehistoric desert peoples 
a laptop to capture thoughts
a Nikon to record burnt fire rings 

a Clovis Point 
would be the jackpot 
he said 
in his quest to imagine rituals 
and ceremonies 
that excited his speech 
in a mysterious sort of way 

his excitement suddenly 
turned to sobriety 
when I told of my quest 
to imagine 
this fellow called Jesus
he too 
from a desert clime 

seated atop large boulders 
he told tales 
of Anasazi 
and Hohokam 
and Mogollon 

and I shared 
my tuna sandwich 
when he unexpectedly 
cracked a smile 

then I told him 
I imagined Jesus 
wearing a pair 
of cargo pants 
just like his

the smile disappeared
as he reached 
into his knapsack
and produced 
a large arrowhead
and handed it 
to me

saying

I 
prefer 
real
things.