After the last wildfire, an island appeared ringed by a breakwater
of small stones.

Cairns squat in the shadow of two-legged beings, wearing
masks of the gods who rose up in their ancestors' dreams.

Canines worship their gods barking and howling;
plants have gods who scatter their pollen; fishes'
iridescent gods glow in the darkest depths.

Writing this epoch to the sound of glaciers retreating.
Befriend this land, and it preaches its tales, a pallium
of mineral and textual verberations, reaching
planetary dimensions by bouncing off
stones and kicking up bones.
                                    

 

 

pallium: Circular band worn on an archbishop's shoulders; or, the mantle of grey and white matter that covers the surface of the cerebrum.