A Poem by Joan Leotta

Summer Storm at the Grand Canyon

 

Black clouds hang low over the canyon
a sudden, swift snap of light

claws across the sky,
ripping into the rim’s stone flesh.

The helpless fury of the wounded stones
roars throughout the canyon.

Relentless, the

fiery cat-o-nine tails
strikes again
at the stones.
Reddened rocks answer each stripe
with rolling roars.

The whip now cracks

angrily around the canyon rim
etching agony onto

the entire semi-circle of rocks

.

When I can no longer bear to watch

such naked pain and anger,
I retreat, running down the trail.

The rocks cannot run.

Their pain continues.

Joan Leotta is the author of the Legacy of Honor Series: Giulia Goes to War, Letters From Korea, and A Bowl of Rice from Desert Breeze Publishing, Cottonwood Grove published by Western Trail Blaze (April 1, 2014), and Tales Through Time: Women of the South: April Publishing.  Blog: www.joanleotta.wordpress.com