ROAN MOUNTAIN by Malcolm Glass

WELL DONE! Poetry

ROAN MOUNTAIN by Malcolm Glass

An ocean of pink and fuchsia

spreads across Roan Mountain,

undulant waves of clustered

blooms of rhododendron, known

to many as mountain laurel.

A hard, determined wind ruffles

and blurs lavender and rose

across the dense green leaves

of bushes twelve or more feet high.

Underneath, spindly bare limbs

twist skyward, pushing foliage

and flowers to the sun and building

below a skeleton and clear ground

flecked with nodding patches of light.

In this labyrinth of bones, the hells,

bears spearhead trails, as they shoulder

and pad their way through the shadows

at the bottom of the dazzling sea.

Malcolm Glass has published fifteen books of poetry and non-fiction. His work has appeared in many journals, including Poetry, The Sewanee Review, and The Write Launch. In 2018, Finishing Line Press published his chapbook Mirrors, Myths, and Dreams; and next year Finishing Line will release his triple-hybrid collection, Her Infinite Variety. Also an artist and photographer, Glass has had artwork juried into dozens of exhibitions and galleries, including The Hilliard Gallery, Art Fluent, Photo Artfolio, and Nuu Contemporary Art. His work has won dozens of awards, from honorable mention to Best of Show.