South Fork by David Chorlton

Shadows cast by the canyon

wall rest lightly upon us

as we carry them past lichen textures,

pink stones and charcoal, and underneath

the airy crowns the pines

have raised above the sycamore

where we stop to look up at rocks

the colour of the fire

that came here three summers

ago. Stepping over fallen oak

along the trail, heads cocked

streamside to listen for a call

above the rustling water, we crane

our necks to follow

a hermit thrush ascending branch

by branch until the cliff tops flare

behind it at the point the Earth's weight

erodes into clear sky.

David Chorlton came to Arizona in 1978 after living in England and Austria. He led a double life as a poet and visual artist for the next two decades or so, with shows that included a one-man exhibition at the Chandler Center for the Arts. His poetry has been published in magazines and books, the latest of which is The Devil's Sonata from FurtureCycle Press in 2012.