The Cities
There were cities up there, intricately
Carved into living rock, up and down a
Thousand feet, fifteen feet deep, elegant
Homes, one room after another, shallow
Caverns containing formal gardens, scents
Of mountain flowers drifting over rocks that
Were encrusted with lichen, pale gray, rose
Red grey, washed out pastels against the
Dark grey of the rock, there were farms, six inch
Wide terraces of pounded rock mixed with
Excrement. There were vertical hunts for
Nests of giant birds or the lizards of
The High Cliffs where loops and curtains of light
Crash against jagged black rocks forever
