Inheritance by John Dotson

 INHERITANCE

by JOHN DOTSON             

Behold the chasm of creation
That gapes from Granite Point
Across the inlet to Whalers Cove
To Big Dome and to Terminal Rock--
Where relic cypresses
Gyrate among cliffs already blocked
From the low, southern sun
Which lays its golden beam
Across the body of Carmel Bay.

Through air heavy with salt and sun-shot,
A brown pelican pumps
Into a fresh gale, banking seaward.
The grounded gulls brace themselves, tucking
Beaks into bloated breasts.
Below the surf-withstanding seapalms,
Three bright orange starfish
Overlap in the thick
Tapestry which subdues the drowned granite.

And here I rest--the same old friend, friend--
A lone beating heartspan
From the intimacy of my death--
Bequeathed within time-space
The fathomless singularity

Big Dome in the Fog and Brown pelican images by Chuck Bancroft