Many thanks to Arvilla Fee for accepting 3 of my poems and 1 photograph in the first issue of Soul Poetry, Prose and Art Magazine. My poems are on pp 23-25. Here is the link: https://soulpoetry7.com/soul-poetry-prose-arts-magazine-issue-1-volume-1-upon-these-wings/

The poem on page 24, Abert’s Squirrel, is the first published poem directly from my time in Bandelier National Monument as an Artist in Residence. Abert’s Squirrel is a delightful species, curious, talkative, very cute, smart, but not always wise. I spent quite a bit of time observing them in Frijoles Canyon. It is not surprising that they show up in several poems. In this case, one is juxtaposed against the experience of being out in the open and surprised by a thunderstorm.

Abert’s Squirrel

We are halfway to the high mesa overlook
to watch canyon streams flow into desert river,
to wait for the moon to rise, see it
plate the world in a wealth of silver,
when suddenly the northward sky takes on a shroud
of dark clouds, lightning forking the horizon.

We know it is rash to continue on exposed, yet
we stand, listening for thunder, undecided,
like the tassel-eared Abert’s squirrel
stretched full length on sun-warm adobe,
loath to leave his spot on the roof
though winged shadows flicker over him.

For what pleasures
will we risk the hawk?

—Again, many thanks to Arvilla for bringing these words to her lovely virtual page, to Sally King, National Park Service for the photo, and to the Abert’s Squirrel.