Arizona (When You Were Young)

I drove for hours through northern Arizona,

Through vast valleys and fields,

Past snow-capped hills and mountains

As far as the eye can see.

The sunlight was in my eyes,

But the blue skies around it

Seemed to stretch into infinity.

The below-freezing temperature

Kept the snow all around from melting,

The white mixing in

With the browns and the reds of the landscape.

Over and under bridges,

Past little houses

In the middle of nowhere;

Through towns smaller than the one

Where I come from.

All of these things reminded me

Of all the stories you told

From when you were young,

Living in southern Arizona,

And how much you hated it.

Though I'm glad to have met you

In where we live now,

I'm not sure that I understand

How you could hate a place as beautiful as this.

But maybe you were too young to understand.