Meet our Leaders – Cecil Goodman

Cecil Goodman, originally from Indianapolis, has been leading for Deer Hill for 4 years, starting out as a camper and returning as Basecamp staff before graduating to leading. As well as her outdoor skills (Cecil is licensed River Guide and a Wilderness First Responder), Cecil is a talented writer, who has a degree in English and Writing from the University of Texas in Austin. This is a beautiful piece of poetry entitled “Day in the Desert When You Were Gone”.

There was one Red bird.  Bright

and soft.  Loud red like a train.

Rain without clouds that came to lift color out of rock.

Green algae,

startled, that flung thick coats of itself to the surface.  Prayer.

At night,

Purple.

Occlusion.   Things hidden and lost

by morning, a catalogue of spines and husks.

The old rust bodies of the scorpions.

Large things like lightning,

and its fluorescent roar – held a half-second too long in the canyon.

Lastly, right now, there is a line of spider’s web.

Stretched taut.

Made only it seems to catch a certain point of light.