Today, our newest team member at the dVerse Pub, is prompting our poetics. Out of her love of photography and the Southwest, she is prompting us to write of it. She has given us several of her incredible photos to use. I wrote this poem a couple of years ago and have re-written several times. It is based on several of my forays into the Mojave desert and visits to Mesa Verde – for solitude and to view meteor showers. Come out west with us today! http://dversepoets.com/2016/05/03/poetics-sentiments-of-the-southwest/
Desert Lights – 1990
Silent climb to the
Top of a seif dune. Sliding down.
Moaning. Booming.
wind ripples – Dry ocean waves.
Bristle cone pine stands.
Reminder of life –
Skeletal. Lone.
Distant mountain ridges
reach white snow to touch
blue sky white clouds.
Cold night moaning.
Dunes whisper secrets
To the listening moon.
Mystic explosion
Of light – Leonids bombard
the darkness – heavens fireworks –
front row seat at best show
off earth.
Orion sets in western sky.
Lighting bolt emblazons darkness.
Storm races down the canyon.
I lie in blackness.
My horse softly whickers.
Flutter of bat wings.
Serene.
I slip deeper into
My sleeping bag.
More stars than Vegas light the sky.
Alone. Alone. Alone.
photo copyright by Mish. Used by permission
May 03, 2016 @ 15:38:59
Oh what a magnificent show that would have been… the desert night is a perfect night… and with meteor showers… wow.
May 03, 2016 @ 15:41:24
You would go wild – first at the vast array of the stars and then….the showers. The lightning storm gave a lavender glow. unforgettable.
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May 03, 2016 @ 15:49:21
So peaceful and lovely. I especially like your horse whickering. I’d never heard that word before and I always love to learn a new word.
May 03, 2016 @ 16:00:25
A soft sound it is. I think she heard something that woke her from her dreams.
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May 03, 2016 @ 16:07:51
Writing my Western(s), I did add whicker to my SW arsenal of words. You recapture that night magnificently. Here in WA state on the W side of the mountain, meteor showers get lost in the city lights & haze. I have been in love with bristle cone pines forever; hard to fathom that some of them were alive & growing while Jesus walked the earth. I like the lines /bristle cone pine stands/ reminder of life/ skeletal/ alone/.
May 03, 2016 @ 17:16:29
Reading this poem, am reminder of July 1980, and the northern Alberta night sky, forever, its etched, in my memory. As a child, I grew up, in the light pollution wasteland, of southern Ontario. Never before, or since, have the stars appeared so bright and vibrant, to my eyes. Thank you, for bringing back this memory.
May 03, 2016 @ 23:30:37
I am so glad this did this for you. I live out in the country and the light pollution is minimal. I have watched the space station several times going overhead and this week, around 3 AM, have watched the Aquairid showers….just a joy to see this debris of Halley’s Comet become heart stopping beauty.
May 03, 2016 @ 17:26:00
Dry ocean waves, heavens fireworks & sleeping under those stars – wow, what an adventure Toni ~ Love the ending too ~
May 03, 2016 @ 23:28:49
Thank you. The few times I have felt intense loneliness has always been when surrounded by people and their things.
May 03, 2016 @ 17:45:38
Beautiful, beautiful.
I love this, especially:
“Dunes whisper secrets
To the listening moon.”
We do have some of the most amazing skies out here, and sometimes, a HUGE moon. 🙂
May 03, 2016 @ 23:28:05
I once saw a moon as big as a mountain, I think. Full and glorious and filled the sky.
May 03, 2016 @ 18:21:02
Dry ocean waves.
Bristle cone pine stands.
Reminder of life –
Skeletal. Lone.
Such a splendid write ❤
May 03, 2016 @ 23:27:18
Thank you so very much.
May 03, 2016 @ 18:26:40
I love the feel of the desert and watching the stars.
May 03, 2016 @ 23:27:03
I am glad!
May 03, 2016 @ 18:33:39
Beautiful! The stars are amazing. Endless and wondrous!
May 03, 2016 @ 23:26:43
Yes, they are!
May 03, 2016 @ 19:26:50
What a vivid and striking image you describe. Deep in the desert would be one of the best places to witness those meteor showers. I love your ending…alone, but not lonely.
May 03, 2016 @ 23:25:12
No, not lonely at all. The best way to be alone.
May 03, 2016 @ 19:32:09
This is a treat for the senses. The meteor shower must have been amazing. I really like “wind ripples – Dry ocean waves.” and I think I could hear the horse “whicker” and “the flutter of bat wings”. Delightful sights and sounds.
May 03, 2016 @ 23:24:40
Thank you. It was a wonderful series of events.
May 04, 2016 @ 03:41:45
I can just hear those haunting desert sounds!
May 04, 2016 @ 08:14:42
“wind ripples. Dry ocean waves” So many beautiful words here that really allow me to come with you — I can feel the stars overhead and the serenity and magic of this place at night. Beautifully penned! 🙂
May 04, 2016 @ 15:50:05
Glad you joined me!
May 04, 2016 @ 08:57:36
A gorgeous desert night, alone with horse under the glorious heavens…quite the adventure, Toni!
May 04, 2016 @ 15:50:13
I was a young kitten back then! Now I am a sleepy old cat, but think I would have one more trip in me.
May 04, 2016 @ 12:56:29
Lovely! How wonderful to be alone in the night desert with your horse, showered with glitter from above.
May 04, 2016 @ 15:47:17
🙂
May 04, 2016 @ 15:21:19
What a thoroughly spectacular experience.
May 04, 2016 @ 15:49:45
The stars in the sky there are so amazing and humility producing!
May 04, 2016 @ 18:02:35
When I used to visit the California desert as a child, before it became so developed, the stars seemed so close. Even now, they are more vibrant than most places, but still they have lost so much in the wake of ever-increasing development. Beautiful, Toni.
May 04, 2016 @ 20:38:50
Even in the early 70’s, it was like that. You could just reach out and touch one.
May 04, 2016 @ 21:24:54
Sometimes there is great beauty in being alone.
May 05, 2016 @ 11:57:52
And great peace.