hasty journey south
tombstone circle k
wade through
wanna be cowboys
and rv queens
to check out counter
and zip
outta the parking lot
onto the open road
only to be
cut off
by a paint truck
laying lines
really?
crawling
down the highway
slower than a snail
no way to get back home
now
slow motion
anesthesia fade
kicking in
paint truck procession
will it ever end
finally
interstate cruising
and bless my soul
heart of saguaro forest
rising out of an arroyo
red, orange
violet streaked glow
mountain silhouette
thick stately grove
of slender giants
ordered rows
like teeth of black comb
marching over mountains
straight into eternity
against a sky
that steals
every color
horizon bathed
In deep rich
tangerine gold
purple, crimson
streaks bleeding out
stretching wide
thinning
like long tentacle tips
tenderly tickling
mountains
hovering barely above
psychedelic gynormous
octopus
breath taking
Arizona awe
damn paint truck
almost missed it
WARNING: Saguaro
I wandered e'er so stiffly, speaking to loneliness,
Got dead to desire at the start, deaf to silence,
This remained an arduous journey of despair,
Beneath a broad unforgiving expensive sky,
Destitute, I went hither, on equal ground,
Dreamt damp beds per sensitive trudge,
Last marrow withered essence within,
Cracked, my breath spit out sounds,
Standing, midst heaven and earth,
Nature projects, outline a mirage,
It grew to each wavering vapor,
Beautiful flower be it so trivial,
Blinded via the desert heat,
I know it to be, delighted,
I rush in haste to hug it,
And last of my depth,
In its touch of me,
I didst bleed out,
Penitent pose,
As life flees,
Gist of me,
Knelt I,
Dies.
2020 February 26
*3rd Place*
Warning
~~Richard Lamoureux
Green clinger on arid arroyo rock,
Spring blooms of faded yellow you did drop.
Desert dry took a toll of leaf and branch
Leaving photosynthesis to your bark.
Life is tough, lizard kissed, so short and harsh.
Unlike upland cousins, you are blessed:
In your shelter rests a saguaro babe,
Whose stately arms one day will take your place.
01/28/2020
There once was a shutterbug named Louie
Whose dry humor was a trifle screwy.
To a saguaro he said
Hands up lest I shoot you dead.
A shot; a flash; kablooey went Louie.
Date: 07/01/2019
Sponsor: Tania Kitchin
A saguaro cactus… am I
at times with white flowers, red fruit
melding variety into my surroundings
Beautiful, poised and strong
bathing in radiant sunlight
forever reaching toward the sky
Shadowed by neighboring dunes
absorbing the fast setting sun
proudly standing on my patch of desert
A saguaro cactus... am I
housing & feeding those near
watching over all who call this land home
Saguaro cacti rise up like mighty sentinels
boldly claiming the high desert plains
tall and proud, their prickly arms
forewarn intruders to stop and beware.
A daunting presence, bold and majestic
toughness flows through their cacti veins
Saguaro endure long hours in the barren wilderness
with roots that persevere under dry, hard crust.
With no respite, save for the night
Saguaro rule valiantly in a god forsaken land.
Written on 4/14/2018
Gunshot Saguaro
Long spines. Waxy skin.
Wounds within your flesh abide.
Tall. Distinguished. Dried.
© Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
December 6, 2009
Sonora Saguaro
Creamy flowers bloom.
Distinctively beautiful,
Oh, that southwest side.
© Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
March 11, 2008
at the foot of the mountains
in a valley that is green
in the shadow of saguaro
and arid desert terrain
you hug and kiss me goodbye
I know it's the very last time
quickly mount your horse
and off to the west you ride
no glances over your shoulder
as you pass the mesquite trees
on a new trail that awaits
looking for all that you believe
maybe it's just a myth
and maybe it's really there
but you'll never know the truth
unless you search everywhere
Saguaro Cactus
Stick like shilouette in morn
Birds feed and nest there
The ancient cactus that grows in barren lands
Alone and shaded by their own thorns
Take hundreds of years to mature
Hundreds of years to prepare
Hundreds of years until
They give life
A tiny bloom finally appears in thorny reaches
And blesses the skies with new colors
Colors that invite the flying bugs
Colors that sweetly sing
Colors that soon fade away
And the gift comes
In a bursting
Ancient Saguaro seeds season the desert airs
Like black pepper from a kitchen shaker
But with special and sacred flavor
In a bursting they ride the winds
They dance in blazing the air
And they settle over time
Into shadows
The Saguaro keeps secret their lives’ tales
While they give to the rest of the world
Places to sleep and places to live
Offering slivers of precious shade
While the whole time they grow
For hundreds of years
To give life
Only once
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.