A Singular Drive…285

by Lynne Zotalis

My physical address is Iowa

but my spirit dwells in the mountains
where eons past roots took shape
across this barren desert-scape
sage brush, pinon, scrub oaks, ponderosa pine
foothills ascending to rocky climes
softly hued clay gradually blending
to deep green, grayish blue crest,
distant outline, celestial covering frosts peaks
defining the separation with shaded mounds
earthly to ethereal but it’s all one
in this treasured tierra, my center
an anchor with cords to the sky.
I live in between, a true Gemini
Midwest to Southwest
How am I blest with such?
Hearing secrets only my soul comprehends.
Voices that softly suss with whispers
swaying branches nudge tumbleweeds

along fence lines to congregate, commiserate in arroyos
Heavenward I drive   285   the road rising

my chest inhales oxygen along with awe
I am content

imbued with enchantment.

* * * * *

As a freelance contributor and member in the Iowa Poetry Association, Lynne Zotalis’s poetry has been published in Lyrical Iowa for ten years running. She is a member of the Peace and Social Justice Writers Group at the Loft in Minneapolis, MN, with contributions to their chapbook and Turning Points: Discovering Meaning and Passion in Turbulent Times. Her poetry has appeared in Tuck Magazine and Poetic Bond VII, and Lynne was one of six winners of the RH Cunningham short story contest published in the book Life Dances. All available on Amazon.