Poem: TJ Canyon

 

TJ Canyon

 

heat waves

roil dusty, skinned oakshrubs

above a basin of brown, cracked ocean,

the sun itself a venomous hive:

any twitch of muscle

births a chew of photonic ants.

 

vultures,

black as the wrath of hurt pupils,

stalk what they trust to demise,

those deceived victims,

lulled by a wealth of tricks,

who lie down in lavish wet sheens of silver

and honey as parched as straw,

impossible to taste.

 

a violent cloud

lunges from the blue trapdoor

to gorge on blossoms of oatmeal dune

in Polyphemusian rage.

its shadow-maw slurps everything down,

swift as Saturn eating his kids.

 

the feverish ichor bathes sharp hornfels,

pools into sandy quilts,

a cerement restive,

patchwork of dark and glare,

shambling.

 

 

 

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6/13 ... mods

Tujunga Canyon, Sunland, California

poems like these reflect my experience hiking or backpacking for spiritual guidance, sometimes without much water