“Haleakala” by Rosemary Griggs
Haleakala,
I could almost feel my fucking mantle plume
Hiking through the volcanic crest we didn’t know
if we could make it out before dark. I liked to feel the fear of
relying on the sun. In the slight shade of a rock we hid and sucked oranges, people on horseback passed in the distance.
We traded stories as we went, Tell me about a Christmas
tree, Tell me about an allowance. It didn’t look like earth.
We were small, dusty, and hot. You thought you saw lightning,
the state bird eats horse shit, I took a picture, smitten as we were.
Copyright © 2009, Rosemary Griggs
