Rock Cycle
Earth redeems its investment
when continents collide,
one sliding under another until
crust made molten
intrudes from magma chamber to sill,
extrudes as gooey “pahoehoe,”
explodes as fire and ash
in an igneous rage.
Gradual or sudden
topography is rearranged
into a moonscape of “terra incognita”
where life slips into cracks
begins to reassemble,
knits an up-hill slope with a valley
as seasons paint
the landscape with color,
and lichens feed
on new rock.
Beach Walk on Morro Strand
for Anne Marie
Morro Rock, a plug
Volcanic stone sentinel
An anchor in time
Standing at surf edge
Black crowned night heron stalks fish
Portrait in patience
Log cast onto beach
Floating barnacle nursery
Feet grasping for food
Sanderlings scurry
Incoming surf chases them
Little legs ablur
Comb jelly clear body
Rolls on sand like a marble
Sea glass that's alive
Cormorants flying
Black letter V over surf
Waves roll under them
By-the-Wind-Sailors
Driven on the beach by storm
Perfume of decay
Sweet sound of curlew
Greets me on morning beach walk
Winter gift of joy
Waning gibbous moon
Hovers over Morro Strand
Gift in morning sky
Sea snail gathering
Acanthina spirata
Leaves golden capsules
On foggy morning
Morro Rock plays hide and seek
Enjoy its reveal
Lynn M. Hansen, a retired Modesto Junior College professor of marine biology, is a member of the Ina Coolbrith Circle, a charter member of the Modesto Stanislaus Poetry Center and past president of National League of American Pen Women, Modesto Branch. Her work reflects her sense of place and the art of story-telling. She enjoys gardening with native plants, photography, cooking and writing. Her published work includes Flicker, Poems by Lynn M. Hansen by Quercus Review Press (2013), Journey to Sky Avenue: The Life of Mernie Daisy Lewis (1882-1963) a self-published historical novel (2022), In the Presence of the Moai: Poems and Prose of Travel. Pen Women Press (2023). She has two Pushcart Nominations.
Earth redeems its investment
when continents collide,
one sliding under another until
crust made molten
intrudes from magma chamber to sill,
extrudes as gooey “pahoehoe,”
explodes as fire and ash
in an igneous rage.
Gradual or sudden
topography is rearranged
into a moonscape of “terra incognita”
where life slips into cracks
begins to reassemble,
knits an up-hill slope with a valley
as seasons paint
the landscape with color,
and lichens feed
on new rock.
Beach Walk on Morro Strand
for Anne Marie
Morro Rock, a plug
Volcanic stone sentinel
An anchor in time
Standing at surf edge
Black crowned night heron stalks fish
Portrait in patience
Log cast onto beach
Floating barnacle nursery
Feet grasping for food
Sanderlings scurry
Incoming surf chases them
Little legs ablur
Comb jelly clear body
Rolls on sand like a marble
Sea glass that's alive
Cormorants flying
Black letter V over surf
Waves roll under them
By-the-Wind-Sailors
Driven on the beach by storm
Perfume of decay
Sweet sound of curlew
Greets me on morning beach walk
Winter gift of joy
Waning gibbous moon
Hovers over Morro Strand
Gift in morning sky
Sea snail gathering
Acanthina spirata
Leaves golden capsules
On foggy morning
Morro Rock plays hide and seek
Enjoy its reveal
Lynn M. Hansen, a retired Modesto Junior College professor of marine biology, is a member of the Ina Coolbrith Circle, a charter member of the Modesto Stanislaus Poetry Center and past president of National League of American Pen Women, Modesto Branch. Her work reflects her sense of place and the art of story-telling. She enjoys gardening with native plants, photography, cooking and writing. Her published work includes Flicker, Poems by Lynn M. Hansen by Quercus Review Press (2013), Journey to Sky Avenue: The Life of Mernie Daisy Lewis (1882-1963) a self-published historical novel (2022), In the Presence of the Moai: Poems and Prose of Travel. Pen Women Press (2023). She has two Pushcart Nominations.
