Franciscan Manzanita

You should walk along the shores 

and down secret paths 

into lonely hearts 

and haunted rooms 

Carve roots into serpentine

 -the green sea rocks

Carve your name into the city sidewalks

 -Eternity 

So far we’ve come

  flung into the future 

like trapeze artists letting go

  swinging through the city 

Tumbling

Tumbling 

Down

Between the rocks

like a waterfall

I saw you 

just there, on the stony edge  

digging in

and I thought 

that I might wave 

or say, 

Hello…

Hello 

But I couldn’t 

Think of the color that you remind me of 

was it blue yellow crimson 

or gold 

but mostly green

and we’re discovering

how to split this serpentine  

in the steam-grey clouds at Lands Endand call it home 

M.H. Lopez is a poet, editor, nature lover, and longtime resident of the Sunset district in San Francisco, California. He holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, and an MFA in Writing from the University of San Francisco. He is the founder of Lone Mountain Literary Magazine, and a co-editor at Mumber Literary Magazine.

Check out his IG page, mhlopez.poetry, to see his full list of previously published material