AP 5

AP 5
(After the painting by Anna Pimakhova)

Here, under the sun’s explosion
the vast and wounded wilderness
where only raptors soar and fly
casting their shadow.

This is a wild and bloody place
even the humped canyons
yield to its fierce sorcery
where the flayed pelt of prairies burn
like Dante’s phosphorous flames.

Here’s the pulse, the heart of it:
One day you’re walking in the sun
and then you’re not.

© Paula McKay