Splendors of the serpentine

splendors of the serpentine

wrapping me in a spell

of mottled, blue-green geologic veneration.

something… unspeakable

so I walk in silence

and let it be spoken by sargents cypress

whose roots crawl like nimble fingers

through the metamorphosed remains

of magnesium-rich peridotite,

coloring the landscape with shades of endemism.

these ultramafic, metallic ophiolites

harbor many secrets and many challenges,

yet life finds a way.

and time, with its eternal threads

and evolutionary warps and wefts

weaves a masterpiece yet again!

these serpentine veins slithering through the land,

while harsh to many,

make home for a cryptic cast of characters

with a kind of resilient beauty

that deserves more poetry

Scenes of the serpentine from Bohemia Ecological Preserve