Canyon of Tears by G. Louis Heath

Fate agitates in the sheer canyon in the

Sparse shadow of starving pines clinging

To stoic cliffs. Teens skylark in kayaks and 

Old men paddle in canoes to fight surging 

Rage. The river shrugs off intruders on its 

Roiling shoulders, slashes skin, splinters bone.

Rocks find all in the stained blanket of time to 

Eddy un-happened sadness. No one escapes. 

No birth or station, no wealth, grants a pardon.

Jagged rock happens to all in the eternal canyon

Of angry water and bitter tears. Rock happens.

G. Louis Heath, Ph.D., Berkeley, 1969, is Emeritus Professor, Ashford University, Clinton, Iowa. He enjoys reading his poems at open mics. He has published poems in a wide array of journals. His books include Leaves Of Maple and Long Dark River Casino.