Poem of the Week–Joshua Tree

JOSHUA TREE REVISITED

Ageless rocks stand like desert monuments,
Trees with spiky arms reach toward the sky.
Roads snake into endless wilderness
Distant views bemuse the eye.

Sandy trails slice through unyielding brush
Where shy inhabitants slither, crawl and run,
Bold wildflowers in radiant colors
Lift their heads to the relentless sun.

Vast and wild, the park calls to adventurers
Who roar along its roads in fearless quest.
While those who come to look for sanctuary
Soon discover gifts of beauty, peace and rest.

Some say this place is where the spirits dwell
And who’s to know who has not felt its spell?

Dawn Huntley Spitz
Cape Cod Branch, MA

7 comments

  1. Andrea Ker Hutter says:

    Wonderful poem, Dawn. I have a California cousin who has been urging me to go to Joshua Tree with her. Going to move that trip higher on my priority list. Thank you for your inspiration!

  2. Vivian Johnson says:

    The Joshua Tree Revisited reminds me of my recent visit to Cane River in Louisiana. This is the Cane River Lolita Tademy speaks about in her book entitled, Cane River. Just about everything this poem speaks of can be found there. Go, and you will discover these priceless gifts of beauty.

  3. Patricia Daly-Lipe says:

    Soothing, beautiful visuals, captures our imaginations and brings up vivid memories of those of us who have been there. Thank you, Dawn!

  4. Dawn, what an enticing poem. I love poems that I don’t realize they’re rhyming until I read it a second time. How beautifully descriptive this is. We live so close to Joshua tree…Desert Hot Springs…and we keep saying we want to go there yet haven’t. Now we will! I grew up in Buffalo, NY and was always surprised that everyone hadn’t been to Niagara Falls. In a sense I joined that category. Thank you for heading us in that direction. You should write for the Chamber of Commerce! Now more ready to feel its spell… Many warm thanks, Lois

  5. Not certain this is the right place to post, but Story Circle Network, a national organization dedicated to women writers and readers, is requesting workshop proposals for their national conference in Austin, Texas, April, 2016. Deadline for proposals is Sept. 15. If interested in more information, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with SCN or check internet for Story Circle Network to learn more. I’m a long time Pen Woman, originally in Tucson, AZ, now in Omaha, NE. I’ll be a panelist there with Susan Wittig Albert and Deborah Winegarten.

    • NLAPW says:

      Hi, Connie,
      Yes, this is the right place! I’ll put up a call on the website and tweet about it, too, if you send me copy ready info and links. Thanks for the heads up!– Treanor

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