The Alchemists Clubhouse is a weekly newsletter of art, poetry, and coaching tips. Full members have access to live and recorded workshops on Zoom.
Next week is my final journaling workshop of the year, Wed. Dec. 18 at 4pm. Our theme is the Winter Solstice, the darkest hour before the light begins to return. This is a potent time for wishing! For more information and how to join, see below.
This week’s poem is another triversen, in the style of William Carlos Williams. You may remember my first attempt at this form, a poem from a few months ago called Spanish Dancer. In both cases, I found it an interesting challenge to make each stanza a complete, yet very concise, sentence.
This one was was inspired by a weekend trip to Joshua Tree National Park, which stretches between the Mojave and Colorado Deserts. When people think of California, they don’t usually think of the desert, but it’s a rather vast chunk of the lower part of the state.
Needless to say, it’s a very different California than what the beaches and coastal cities represent. The contrast is quite remarkable. So much stillness. So much quiet.
The cholla cactus is one of the protected plant species, like all desert plants, hardy and spiky. It’s wise to admire her from a safe distance.
Note: the photo below is not a cholla - it’s an octotillo.
Cholla
You aim
a long thin spine
into the heat.
The field
is full
of stoic sisters.
Dry means ready–
rain comes fast
at night.
You take
what comes
to grow.
Thick skin grips
the new
bulbs tight.
Your limbs find
new slants–
the soil holds.
Love the poem and the photo! They go together very well!!