By Eric Meub
The grasses hissed beneath the oaks that mark
these fields. But now her swimming pool has spread
a net of light up into shadowed bark.
An over-irrigated oak falls dead.
Yosemite must overflow its well.
An Eden drowns to fill the pools, to force
a pastel wash upon an arid swell
of grass. Her husband sues her for divorce.
She finds release in aqueducts. They reach
across the pictures in the travel albums she
still keeps: through Nîmes, through Merida, through each
brown book of empire branching to the sea.
And, branching through her garden hose, they soak
the poles that prop the last enduring oak.
Copyright © 2014 by Eric Meub
Eric Meub, architect, lives and practices in Pasadena. He is the adopted brother of the artist, Susan C. Price. They respect, in their different ways, the line.
From the Hetch Hetchy website: "Situated inside Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy Valley was described by John Muir as 'one of nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples.'” Eric Meub muses on the valley's fate.[Thank you, Eric!]
ReplyDeleteSusan, thank YOU too! Your line drawings that pair with Eric's sonnets are PERFECT!
ReplyDeleteGreat Sonnet, Eric. A little sad, but I believe that's what I like about it.
ReplyDeleteSusan, that's not Pam, is it?
ReplyDeletei have no drawings of pam..only photos
ReplyDeleteEric, your sonnets are so good, we've got to figure out a way to bring them before a much wider readership. I'm trying to think of whom to send notifications. Have you sent any? Or would that be too toot-my-own-hornish? I encourage others to send notifications to THEIR likely suspects for fine poetry.
ReplyDeleteHint: there's an envelope icon with a right arrow below the post; click on that to send an email notification to up to ten individuals, with a short note of explanation/recommendation.
Thanks for this sonnet regarding the fate of Yosemite Valley. The 17 percent of normal snowfall may result in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir becoming a dry lake bed.
ReplyDelete