Grand Canyon Haiku

Blue sky eagles fly

Red canyon walls glowing wild

Weary hikers smile

This simple Haiku above was written by a child--and it remains my fave. I saw it at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and it sparked a series of my own. Enjoy!

Safe perch atop Grand Canyon

Fear of heights now past

Condor land below so high

Perception deceives distance

Flattening the depths

Rock reality prevails

Ancient history presents

Boulder color show

Majestic mountains speak

Paleozoic looming

Red wall limestone warmth

"The Great Unconformity"

Patient carving of canyon

Erosion gorges

El Rio Colorado

Ever deepening river

Sulfate smog above

Still magnificent beauty

My heart sinks with the sunset's

Final pink of day

Spirits depart from earth here

At Grand Canyon's fragile edge

The wind has carried

Dear David's ashes away

Ancestral Pueblo people

Seasonal nomads

The Painted Desert beckons...

A Poem for Earthaven

 Visiting EARTHAVEN

Off the beaten trail are we
where beings live in harmony
with the land and each other,
family of sisters and of brothers

Here thrives a Haven
of heavenly beautye
ecological sanity,
relational unity…

In peace with the earth
where humans flourish,
a place where every spirit
is nourished.




People come from far and wide
to this mountainous countryside;
They come all year to walk the land,
to learn and lend a helping hand.

Some return to join the scene,
high on technologies
so clean and green.

Most who leave are inspired within,
to go home and tend their compost bin,
simplify their lives and share their home,
for we can no longer live alone;

if we want to keep our mother alive.
It’s way past time to help her thrive.

Earthaven folks are doing their part
with creativity and lots of heart.
Much gratitude to them I give
for helping others to simply live.

~Mary Rives
December 7, 2009