Covenants

All these different kinds of rock,
The rounded river cobbles,
Miscellaneous gravels,

The bigger chunks of sandstone
Spread evenly like crumbles
Over a cake’s brown icing,

The faked half-stones of the walls
Of the townhomes in the midst
Of all the xeriscaping,

The massive sandstone layers
Of the thousand-meter cliffs—
An orchestration of stone

For its aesthetic effects
As decreed by town council,
Well aware the town’s taxes

Depend on tourist income,
And tourists appreciate
Thoughtful aesthetic effects.