And now some poems from one of my latest collections.
Perhaps, two of the major influences on this work
would be, first of all, the great amount of time,
which I'm fortunately able to spend
in the out of doors hiking and backpacking, and secondly,
of course, the geography and the cultural influences
here in the Southwest.
The first one is "Granite Mountains,"
which are as I remember over beyond the Papago Indian
Reservation, very inaccessible area.
All along the gums, the teeth are
aware with the ache of thin ice melting.
How the reefs rise around us in the morning,
follow us as we travel, our heads transparent,
and the boot soles work to a nap on the rocks.
And though we walk body stretching into hours delirious
into sand, move around us with the ease
of steady ships as wide circling monstrous camels.
Until the day goes down and everything hardens,
here we stand.
At the end, our veins bristling with cold.
All day sworn to the brothers of our changing shadows now
dissolving, hearts burnt out.
The thin last sheet of sky, tar and albumin
drips into their sockets.
The feet still hold fire, then go with the limbs
and jaw to stone.