Surrender--By Patricia Nolan--United States

Surrender

A band of turquoise binds
cobalt sky to red rock for
only a moment between
storm and sunset. Wind
massages the synapses
of my mind.

One boot in front of the other
from sere earth to the shade
of the turquoise berries on
a gnarly ancient juniper
where I sip water and sink
onto an entrada sandstone ledge,

and watch desert life scurry
around a tinaja, then
my eye catches strands
of turquoise in a nearby
rock hidden under old
bones bleached quiet white.

Patricia Nolan serves as coordinator for the Haiku Society of America Plains & Mountains Region. She is a member of Poetry West in Colorado Springs. She paints sumi-e (Japanese ink painting), also works in oil, pastel, and acrylic and writes poems in several Asian forms, as well as other poetry, essays, and outdoor articles. Western rivers, mountains, and trails provide most of her inspiration.