Sanctuary, symmetry,
the woman brought
the mountain home with her
the way they do,

the way they do,
geology is one long song.
we learn to sing it
not just with our legs,
clouds explain canyons,
the lake explains the sky,

deep strata of uncounted years
specify this rock wall,
anticline by river, road
a blasphemy through solid rock.

2.
She brought the mountain home
and held it on her knee,

take care of things
the crows kept saying, the way
they do to wake us, make us
do the right thing,

now wake
the stone they cawed
and she did. So quiet
for so hard a thing it spoke,
said its name, said clear
soft things about sleep and time
and who am I and who are you
before she let it fall sleep again–
its long work not nearly done.

1 April 2023