fossils in sandstone
cracked rocks
dry eroded stream beds
scarred bark
the fractal desert thirsts
of what did you dream last night
places with dank forest moss
mushrooms and green ferns
sprouting from logs
not here
but under New Mexico’s sunset clouds
we can still dance
our bodies flowing into solstice
flowing like rain
that rises flower petals
above stabs of grass
—
Joanne Townsend has been writing and publishing poetry for 40 years. In December 2005, she moved to Las Cruces from Alaska where it was honored to serve as the state’s 8th Poet Laureate. Her recent poems appear in “Sin Fronteras: Writers without Borders.” Joanne loves seeing more sun than snow.
200 New Mexico Poems 