I go to town

and complain about the tourists

to the other locals

at the grocery store

the liquor store

the coffee shop

oh the traffic

oh the noise

oh the people

wandering the street

and that’s all valid

for this little town

is busier than it used to be

but I try to remember

as I cruise home

and smile at the changing leaves

that we are all just tourists here

some of us lucky

to be here longer than others

but in the end

these mountains are not owned

by any of us

in fact if anything

we are theirs

if anything we belong

to the wind and the rivers

the bare peaks and the blizzards

if anything we are tourists too

and should feel happy

to call these valleys home

for what little time we can

Alexander Shalom Joseph is a writer from Gilpin County. He has two published books and one more forthcoming in the Fall of 2022. For more information and to subscribe to Alexander’s Newsletter go to alexandershalomjoseph.com