(Morro Bay, Southern California)

1

Across the dulled estuary,
Where the ghosts of egrets stalk,
In the distance,
Its top pelmeted
By steadfast fog,
Eerie Morro Rock is lodged.
Like something that has risen
From the clouded sea
(A gigantic menacing jellyfish),
Or something landed
From a far-flung planet,
The dome of strangeness mystifies.

2

A short, fast drive
Through an arch of forest,
And we arrive below it,
A mountain surely
Meant for worship:
The broken-up face of a god.
Proud gulls perch
On the boulders it’s shed
At its base
And nervous squirrels
Search the wreckage;
And where it once spat
Its tail of rocks to the sea,
Young couples dare
The restless waves.

Peter Thabit Jones © 2022

Published in GARDEN OF CLOUDS/NEW AND SELECTED POEMS by Peter Thabit Jones, 2020