Haiku Of The Canyons Poem by Chuck Toll

Grand Canyon

Touching the gray stone
Formed beneath an inland sea
Before life on land.

* * *

Grand Gulch

High on canyon walls
Bleached silent by constant sun
The sheep and snakes dance.

* * *

Bullet Canyon

Hidden, old yet whole,
A kiva with sipapu
Summoning spirits.

* * *

Aruvaipa Canyon

Rustling fronds obscure
The scraping of the wren.
Canyon morning breeze.

* * *

Betatakin Canyon

So narrow at points
You can touch both walls,
Or suddenly drown.

* * *

Chevalon Canyon

Two ravens riding
Updrafts from the heated walls,
Wheeling in silence.

* * *

No Name Canyon, Hovenweep

Water from a seep
Drips down moss to a hole cut
The shape of a gourd.

* * *

Chaco Canyon

Trails spider outwards,
Webs to trade and to rule
Others less warlike.

* * *

Eaton Canyon

From the tamarisks
Beneath the rim homes and pools
A bear’s eyes watch us.

* * *

Glen Canyon

Lake sediment clings
To rocks waiting to be cleansed
Slowly by the rains.

* * *

Canyon of the Yellowstone

The waterfalls’ crash
Deafens RVs and tourists,
And Clark and Lewis.

* * *

Canyon de Chelly

Pickups in streambeds
Below the empty ruins
For exorbitant fees

* * *

Zion Canyon (Backside)

Meeting the cold stare
Of two men in worn denim
While crossing the ford.

* * *

Smith Rock Canyon

The deadened echoes
Of climbers feeling their way
Watched by an eagle.