Stars like chips of ice
float above descending slopes
of Gorgonio, first the elevated plains,
uplands of hardened ridges,
then sudden drop over bare
undulations, desolate down through
the pass, until silver winds
heave and dawn cracks open.
Sea mists ascend in the west
Rich and resonant blue
Seafoam holy white, golden
sand, and gloria be to them, glory.
Hawk feather drifts across
the bronze bobcat sky, rabbits
find patches of dried grass
at the edge of everything
awaiting impending destruction;
strength wanes on freeways
from here to manifold
dreadful certainties.
Sea mists dissolve in the west
Splendid sun spilling light
On miles of shoreline, blue
Stretching out to a clear horizon
Melancholy rises at sundown
Hidden caves, stampeding
horses chasing unseen maps,
corridors drought dry with thorns
and miles to towns where lights
swing in the winds, hanging
there in insensible hope
waiting while children sleep.
Sea mists gather in the west
Purple night falls, coconut
crabs surface to survey
and gloria be to them, glory.
Carla McGill’s work has been published in The Atlanta Review, Bryant Literary Review, Shark Reef, Crack the Spine, Westview, Common Ground Review, Caveat Lector, Door Is A Jar, Euphony Journal, The Hungry Chimera, Carbon Culture Review, Neologism Poetry Journal, DASH Literary Journal, Schuylkill Valley Journal of the Arts, The Summerset Review, The Penmen Review, Cloudbank, Paragon Journal, Burningword, The Alembic, California Quarterly, Waxing & Waning, Broad River Review and others. She lives in Southern California where she writes poetry and fiction.