Dear Earth,

In White Sands,
you remind me how silence can shimmer.
The air holds its breath,
the dunes drift like slow oceans,
and the horizon blushes as if it knows
we’ve forgotten how to be still.

I walk across light and gypsum,
each step erasing itself behind me,
as if you’re saying—
it’s okay to start over.

Thank you for giving us places
where time feels thin,
and wonder feels possible.

With love,
—Cat Atom