Sentinel

Photograph by Rick Mobbs.

This is another image prompt by Rick Mobbs--this one from his trip down the Colorado in the Grand Canyon last week.

Sentinel

Karluuk was young,
as spirits go,
when the canyon was birthing,
forming trenches like cosmic claw marks
deeper and deeper
into earth’s brown bosom.

He spent multiple millenniums
observing the mighty Colorado
before it ever had a name,
carving its wet signature
into the sandstone colon
of new cliffs.

Karluuk was wind spirit,
fascinated by
the industriousness of river;
so much so
that he befriended it.
Since river was water spirit
they could see
each other’s faces.

Great Manitou
enjoyed them both,
finding joy in their youthful frolic,
while wind whipped up waves,
river roared deep in its chest;
midst their play,
more so every single day,
a canyon began to form.

One day river requested
that Karluuk hover for a time
in one single spot.
“Oh yes, I could,” said wind,
But why would I?”

“Because I love you,
and our friendship
will be eternal
as you pose for me
and I carve your likeness
on this lovely new cliff”
said river.

So it came to pass
that wind swirled slowly
on one small mesa
for several days,
while river,
the loving artist,
sculpted Karlook’s face
into solid rock—
finally one midday
the masterwork was
completed.

“Why, it looks just like me!”
wind exclaimed,
“Especially my nose
and furrowed brow.”

River laughed,
splashing the nearby banks
with its giddy waves.
“There you are,
and there you’ll be
forever the watcher,
friend and sentinel.

The face is still there,
high above the canyon,
today,
for those who look,
who notice,
who care.

Glenn A. Buttkus August 2008