The jagged climb up the steep cliffs
to the flower filled bluff
Seagulls traveling
in long, jagged, abstract lines,
swooping at us
causing me to drop my pick
20 feet below. I watched it
careen down
the side of the jade
covered cliffs like
a bouncing rubber ball, When we
reached the top
my hands were stinging and bleeding
from grabbing the rocks on the climb.
I dragged and pulled my body
up on the bluff, stood up and ran a few feet
and threw myself face first
into a meadow of sweet, moist lilies.

***

Doug Draime has been a presence in the 'underground' and small press since the late 1960's. Most recent books include: "Eyestone" and "Next Exit: One (W/ Bill Shute) from Kendra Steiner Editions"Next Exit: Three" (w/ Misti Rainwater-Lites) also from Kendra Steiner Editons, "Spidesr And Madmen" (Scintillating Publications, 2006) and "Unoccupied Zone" (Pitchfork Press, 2004). Forthcoming from Tainted Coffee Press, "Dancing On The Skids". His poetry, short stories and plays continue to appear in a wide range of magazines, newspapers, broadsides, and online journals. He lives in the foothills of the Siskiyou mountain range in Oregon with his wife Carol, also a writer.