Emily Strauss has written her whole life. Her poems have appeared in more than 20 online journals such as Willows Wept Review, Red Ochre LiT, Forge Journal, and Shot Glass Journal. Emily often writes responsively based on natural scenes she’s visited. This poem was inspired by the Red Rock country of the west.
I Sleep on Bare Rock
By Emily Strauss
in pale rain hollows
blown clear of dust
by afternoon westerlies.
Rare winter storms will
fill these stone basins
by spring, leaving soft sand
ridges marked by nimble
footprints of stray mice
and lizards
lost on warming nights
seeking moisture by the drop.
Then summer sands will rise,
shimmering heat curtains
will settle in the depressions
as warm as cotton nests
round like my palm
holding my young sleep
softly in the night.
Now all the mystery is gone
leaving this red stone pillow
cool under the midnight moon,
it cups me in fine pain,
I don’t feel the dew.
I dream insecure
in my smooth sandstone bed
until dawn throws pink rays
down my arched back
and the sun returns
without an apology.
I know I am lost
I sleep on bare rock.
