there.

 

Lesley Stampleman

Process

 

Every so often
simple water
becomes a downpour

This isn’t about thirst
but erosion

The current is swift
running mud
with heavy handed boulders
rolling within confines
of canyons
until it reaches
an opening
the flat surface
an alluvial splay
that spreads
without direction
carrying the shuffle
of salt and gypsum
thinned to the level
of its insides
plus mud under
mud hardening

and the
water is forced
back into the air, to wait and wait
until this spiny dozing floor
starts to hack seeds and pebbles

 

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