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Old Graves and Mesquite: two poems by Don Thompson


Mesquite tree growing in an otherwise desolate-looking desert landscape, image from Pixabay.















mesquite tree, image from Pixabay



Old Graves


Who, where and when—

Matters of fact

Carved in low-grade marble

Assert that death’s permanent.

But even such deep letters

Wear too thin to read

In time—as if memory

Has only been penciled in.




*


Mesquite


Branches the color of burnt bone,

but flaky, with leaves

a dull and lifeless green,

dusted with ashes.

But nothing here is more alive.

Its roots, deeper than despair,

find water where there is no water.

And it’s enough.




____________________






Don Thompson has been writing about

the San Joaquin Valley for over fifty years,

including a dozen or so books and chapbooks.

A San Joaquin Almanac won the Eric Hoffer

Award for 2021 in the chapbook category.

For more info and links to publishers, visit

his website at: www.don-e-thompson.com

 
 
 

1 comentario


cmbharris
cmbharris
01 sept 2023

Love this:

"Its roots, deeper than despair,

find water where there is no water.

And it’s enough."


Me gusta

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