Hill Country Highway
Recorded time:
set in stark sediment; framed
in limestone ribbons; bold colored layers
which track highway carved asphalt
of I-10 Hill Country interstate.
Primal questions sit
silent, lost
in harsh Texas sun
seen day by day eroding
in cedar topped & fragile soil lines
crumbling into our own
hot dust; rain bursts;
sun burnt minds
giving us
even fewer answers;
all reasonable speculations long licked
salt dry. Ocean beds, ancient shell
curves spiral into gold & ochre
stripes which wax & wane
over now silent
shorelines,
rough cliffs & cañon sides
stare where dark turkey vultures
glide, prowl for hopeful outcomes.
Still, we drive on. Not overawed nor perturbed
by this audacious witness, our faces now
gaze homeward towards some
south border destiny.
June 19, 2009 ~ Friday Early Afternoon
I 10 East, between Kerrville and San Antonio
This poem was written on the last day of a summer road trip and pilgrimage taken by my three daughters and I. Six weeks and 6,500 miles together in a small car, we were definitely headed home.
1 comment:
Besides using evocative language well, the poem's structure tells a story of movement. I note that each stanza juts forward (reading left to right), as if trying to get somewhere.
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