Cynthia Anderson
Cynthia Anderson lives in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree National Park. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals, and her work has been nominated for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize. She is the author of ten poetry collections and co-editor of the anthology A Bird Black As the Sun: California Poets on Crows & Ravens. www.cynthiaandersonpoet.com
The Interior
No one lives there—too remote,
merciless, a place for outlaws
in hiding, not meant to sustain
human life. The wind can rend
skin from flesh, the cold take
your eyes. Yet you yearn for
this waste of glacier and desert,
volcano and lake—an untamed
wilderness shaped like a heart.
Something waits for you
on the knife-edge of danger—
the chance to be someone
else. The chance you might
not return. The chance
earth herself might sing
in a voice you can hear.
Arrival
here is the light
that allows another
day to happen
every living thing
leans toward that beam
from the east
golden after
the grey of dawn
a slight breeze
stirring branches
and leaves—
this is what
we came for
the light riding
higher
lengthening
shadows
behind us
Sheila-Na-Gig online 