PETROGLYPH

When first this native carved this rock,
This stone, the skeleton of the planet,

Though he had the motivation of the purist art,
Beauty as well as communication,

Representation of the sacred
Residing in the mundane,

The symbolism, at best now guessed at,
Has become a poetry subtly felt.

The beauty has been amplified
By the embrace of nature,

The tempering of the weathers,
The addition of blues and greens and grays--

Mosses and lichen--a collaboration
Of an ancient graffiti artist and the earth.