Sisar Canyon

Sisar Canyon

I miss the hills of brush,
pungent sage, lavender ceanothus
I miss the water's rush,
tumbling o'er boulder, rock, gravel

I miss the trees,
spiny live oak leaves and
galls
wherein wasps make secrets

I miss the screaming Stellar's jays
brazen bandits
announcing dawn and day and dusk
raucous muezzins of the canyon

my mind recalls it all

the heat,
the scent
the sounds
the feel
of rock at midday summer
of wild things rejoicing
of water dappled with shade
of firm earth beneath my feet
and gentle sky above.

ah, the canyon I have left
but it has not left me.