Amarillo Mountains

Nearly a thousand miles south of the Rockies

lie the Amarillo Mountains, hidden thousands

of feet beneath the plains, peaks rising

to ten thousand feet.

A magnificent range, hidden eons ago,

a granite structure beneath which hides

the decayed remains of animals and men

long dead.

Granite cliffs now protect those graves

turned to oil and carbon black, perhaps

too profitable for the oilmen to leave

resting.

Covered in scrub land, it’s hard to detect

the heights which lie beneath our feet as

we inhale the scent of agarita bushes

and honeysuckle.

Previously Published in Western Spaces, Western Places, Local Gems Press