Howard F. Stein’s most recent poem to appear here was “Crocus in Winter” (February 2017)

Leaving Ghost Ranch, NM
By Howard F. Stein 

Faces and folds of steep mesas
nourish my hunger for perspective.
I stand in awe of you,
spirit in stone.
I cannot stay forever
and sate my soul’s craving.
I leave you for another year,
perhaps forever.

How to turn presence
into memory?

Driving out the exit
that was only recently entrance,
I look back one last time,
then hope for the solace
of remembering,
this emptiness a kind
of fulfillment.