Here, red peppers shrivel
into magnificent crones.
Here, even the bones
dance after death.
The oldest hands
move over the skulls of cows, in search
of water.
And the clouds—
our mouths turn to them,
open.
Copyright 2004, Elizabeth Scism
Elizabeth Scism’s work has appeared in Potomac Review, Lullwater Review, and Southern Humanities Review,
among other places. She currently teaches American Literature and Creative Writing at Collierville High School
in Collierville, Tennessee. (An earlier version of “Postcard from Taos, New Mexico” was published in the 2003
issue of The Chaffin Journal.)