I.
Eons ago, there
were rumblings and murmurs from
canyons and mesas
with drums and voices rising,
Now, buried by cliff rock slides.
II.
What secrets remain
Scattered by old calderas
Volcanic fragments
Strewn, trammeled across this land?
Ancient rocks seeking purpose.
III.
One by one, I lay
Them in this dry, old riverbed.
Worn from rough to smooth,
Red, black, brown and gray – these rocks
A storied community.
IV.
The rains, long gone now
Dirt path where water once flowed
Yearning for purpose
Each rock I gather reveals
Life, weathered smooth yet pockmarked.
V.
Oh, lonely riverbed!
Filled with a random patchwork
Of old rocks waiting
For water to flow again,
Waiting to be purposeful.
—
In “Homage to the Riverbed,” Annemarie Marek embraced the Japanese waka which uses a 5-line poem or stanza having a syllabic line structure of 5-7-5-7-7. Annemarie studied the Japanese waka during the Summer Classics program at St. John’s College and enjoys exploring various poetic forms. Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals and, most recently, in the 2023 New Mexico Poetry Anthology.
