Cairn

darwin and
freud
and sartre:
a most
unholy
three

turned us back
to our rat
and lizard
brains
into igneous
rock

go to lascaux
the great hall
of the bulls
breathe in
chauvet
among

cave bear skulls
and come
away
gasping:
a brittle
asthmatic

stand above a
scraped hole
and heap
stones
to protect
the bones

and dream
death and
resurrection
that first, long
moment of
abstraction

Gregory L. Candela has traveled throughout Mexico since 1970 and has resided in New Mexico since 1972. He holds a doctorate in American and African American literature and is professor emeritus at University of New Mexico. Candela has written a volume of poetry (Surfing New Mexico—2001), six produced plays and edited 6 volumes of poetry and prose. Recent publications include poems in the Harwood Anthology, Malpaís Review, Adobe Walls, Sin Fronteras, and Italian Americana (forthcoming
in Fall/Winter 2012).