Tag: poetry

Poem 20150521

crow

the climb is vertical at points
an unforgiving drop to the left

the swithbacks make this a hike
rather than a climb
but my shoes are not made for this
slipping on dirt-caked stones
sliding over loose stones

and my clothes are not made for this
jeans heavy and hot and tight
and not good for the long strides
that i have to make

and i am not made for this
old and out of shape
dripping with sweat
panting in this elevation
legs shaking with the effort
all these flights of stairs
made of oxidizing sandstone

the lizards scuttle out of my way
it isn’t hard to imagine a grasshopper
flying at my face
catching me off balance
and sending me over the edge

this doesnt happen

the summit is flat and covered in scrub
junipers and pine dead and thriving
and agave dying and sending
it blossoms to the sun
is this it? i think
until i break through the heavier growth
and reach the rim

my last breath
as my old self
the self that started
up the mountain trail
his last breath powers a laugh
and i have to learn
how to breathe
with my new lungs
this new air

Poem 20150520

crow

a jay grabs the grasshopper
out of the air
and flies into the twisted limbs
of thr juniper

later i see a family across
a dry gulch
and wonder which are the parents
and which the overgown
nestling
still trying to get food
out of its parents

i imagine that basin filled
with water during the monsoons
the tree covered in swirling waters
battered by stones

where will birds be?
are they social like crows?
will they huddle together
even though the fledgling
will have long since
struck out
on its own?

Poem 20150519

crow

the red slabs rise in horizontal rows
shaped by hands by nature by the upward
struggling of the earth
small windows that were once doors
storage for corn
too small to take to market
and on the wall
a flute player
playing for no one
once the sun sets

Poem 20150518

crow

the trail is easy
it says so on the map
level
flat
easy to traverse

making my way through
the overhanging trees
past the dead wood
storm or man felled
and overtaken as often
as i overtake children
families dogs the elderly
the ground is at times
hard, broken sandstone
or soft, powdered earth

when i come to a clearing
where the ground flattens out
a smooth place near a creek
once a mighty river
that carved out this channel
and wore down the red earth
i look into the distance
and see the cliffs rising

red columns and tall and proud
as any european cathedral
thats what they call it
cathedral rock

to get a better view
i must cross the creek
removing my socks and shoes
like i’m about to enter a holy place
and wade through icey water
up to my knees
the current almost catches me

but i stay upright
and make my way through the dense
growth again
spilling out onto a plain
and were the sun agreeable
i could say that i am in its shadow

on my return journey
i encounter no one
and have no words to speak
to them anyway

the earth is red
and i think
this is the blood of the earth
rising to the surface
not an omen or warning
not becuase she is wounded
but because that is what
you need for true communion
i think of those years wasted
eating crackers and drinking grape juice
when the asnwer was under my feet
and i want to bury my heart in her

Poem 20150517

crow

leaving the airport
was like leaving any
airport
though the scenery
had more cactus
and more drought tolerant plants
than where we’re from
but otherwise
the scenery didn’t seem that
different
just another town
that looks like it’s stuck
in the time period
it was built
as all those other
suburban sprawling
time-stuck towns

until

you turn

a curve

and it’s like they
made the road
that way on purpose
a magician carefully
choreographing
a trick
to make your jaw hit the floor

and suddenly
the desert is foreign
and like love
it is beautiful
and terrifying
and overwhelming
like you’re traveling
through a movie set
a painting
someting you’ve seen
a thousand times
but flattened out before

and now
it looms
and now
it takes you
and you want
it to

Poem 20150516

crow

tomorrow we
fling ourselves
into the sky
into a red
ocean of sand
into the arms
of grey green
embraces

those sands
those rocks
the breezes whisper
over them
they dial
your cell phone
a call from
an unknown number
and you want to walk out
into the sea
though
you have never set foot
in a desert