Zion Prayer
Ten thousand ancient dunes compressed by time and tempest,
Cleaved and carved by a mighty river into this –
A crimson-clad cathedral of steepled sandstone
With carmine crags and promontories –
A brindled and copper-walled temple
Rising radiantly from this shadowed valley floor.
Beyond flame-hued cliffs birds float –
Paper cranes upon a painted sky.
Today’s sun is a ripe peach
In a fragile blue china bowl.
Piñon pines and junipers
Twist magically from cinnabar stone,
Graceful as green-robed geishas.
For you, two hundred million years have passed.
Your once-powerful waters course quietly now along smooth
red clay banks and tumble lazily into cool azure pools.
Travelers from a hundred nations have gathered here to gaze at you –
Their languages, like your waters, blending and flowing together.
All with adoring eyes upturned,
These pilgrims, dazzled by your sacred splendor,
Drown in your beauty.
Deborah Wenzler is the author of three volumes of poetry: Well Beyond the Water, Love Is the “O” and Memories from My Future. Her work has appeared in several journals, including Immagine & Poesia, an online international e-forum, and the 2020 anthology: Second Wind: Words & Art of Hope & Resilience. Several of her poems have appeared in The Atlanta Review and Song of the San Joaquin. Deborah is also a chef and creative spirit who enjoys wild birds, trees and travel. She currently resides near the Pacific Ocean on the inspiring and ever-changing central coast of California.
Ten thousand ancient dunes compressed by time and tempest,
Cleaved and carved by a mighty river into this –
A crimson-clad cathedral of steepled sandstone
With carmine crags and promontories –
A brindled and copper-walled temple
Rising radiantly from this shadowed valley floor.
Beyond flame-hued cliffs birds float –
Paper cranes upon a painted sky.
Today’s sun is a ripe peach
In a fragile blue china bowl.
Piñon pines and junipers
Twist magically from cinnabar stone,
Graceful as green-robed geishas.
For you, two hundred million years have passed.
Your once-powerful waters course quietly now along smooth
red clay banks and tumble lazily into cool azure pools.
Travelers from a hundred nations have gathered here to gaze at you –
Their languages, like your waters, blending and flowing together.
All with adoring eyes upturned,
These pilgrims, dazzled by your sacred splendor,
Drown in your beauty.
Deborah Wenzler is the author of three volumes of poetry: Well Beyond the Water, Love Is the “O” and Memories from My Future. Her work has appeared in several journals, including Immagine & Poesia, an online international e-forum, and the 2020 anthology: Second Wind: Words & Art of Hope & Resilience. Several of her poems have appeared in The Atlanta Review and Song of the San Joaquin. Deborah is also a chef and creative spirit who enjoys wild birds, trees and travel. She currently resides near the Pacific Ocean on the inspiring and ever-changing central coast of California.
