Journal

by Rebecca Lawton

At night I’d read its pages
Even the names
too beautiful to believe
Matkatamiba
Deer Creek, Thunder River
Elves Chasm, Tapeats Creek
Trout longer than your arm
     in the eddy at Saddle Canyon

The rumpled pages
jogged my memory
     about the river
Mudbaths in the Little Colorado
The balmy air at night
when the sunbaked wind
finally cooled enough
     to let us sleep

I remembered the Canyon
Flash floods pouring red
from Soap Creek, Ryder Canyon
Nankoweap
During the day, I had to keep moving
The adrenalin at Lava Falls
Crystal, House Rock
The green-blue waters
of Havasu Creek
and little travertine pools
to dive in

 

(First published in Sonoma Valley Sun.  Vol. VI, Issue 27.  Sonoma, CA.,  October 9, 2009.)

 

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