No Bells, No Cathedral

Hummingbirds, lizards, finches,
Coyotes, quail, and mule deer
Are common in these canyons—

Nothing so haunting as bells
Ringing over the peaked roofs
Humans built to spook ourselves.

We echo forms of the world
And then notice how those forms
Remind of us of our echoes.

Don’t those bird songs sound like bells?
Those cliffs look like cathedrals.
We craft our imitations

For poppets in the forest,
Then sense ourselves in the woods,
And feel haunted, as we should.