Dennis Spilchuk Poet Verse

Notes About The Poem

Devils Tower

Devils Tower

Millennia ago, the elements exposed
A magma-formed monolithic protrusion,
Nine hundred feet high, without obstruction,
On the rolling plains of Wyoming, U.S.A.

Hexagonal columns of igneous rock
Gird the intrusion, where around the base
Of the formation, scree accumulates
As rock slabs break away and fall from the monument.

Native legend depicts a bear climbing the structure
In pursuit of frightened children huddled on top;
However, the bear fell off, and columns were etched
Into the tower by the scraping of its claws
As raptors carried the children to safety.
                                ***

Notes:
Monolith: A monolith is a geological outcrop of a single rock or stone.
Igneous rock: Igneous rock is formed from the cooling of magma or lava. As the magma that formed Devils Tower cooled, it condensed into columns. Most of the columns that make up Devils Tower are hexagonal (six-sided). The tower is 867 feet (264 meters) high with a flat top covering 1.5 acres (0.6 hectare).
Scree: Scree refers to rocks, boulders and, other debris accumulated at the base of cliffs or other tall rock formations.
Devils Tower (Bear Lodge): Devils Tower (aka Bear Lodge) is a laccolithic butte that was formed around 50 million years ago in an area north of Moorcroft, Wyoming, U.S.A. First Nations People considered the rock formation sacred. 
   Devils Tower derived its name by an incorrect translation of the native name as “Bad God’s Tower” which eventually became “Devils Tower.” The missing apostrophe (Devil’s) was a clerical error.

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