Ruby Heart
If she were a mountain,
she’d be Diamond Peak,
sharp-edged and cold,
sea to her west,
continent to her east,
face to the northern wind,
California has her back.
If she were a song—
play her name on an Indian flute,
fiddle her home to grandma,
fill her up with lilt and longing,
call her “Song for a Daughter.”
If she were a time of day,
sunset would dry her tears
and paint her arms
with the spindrift tattoos
of the scarlet surf.
If she were a river,
she’d flow green and slow
as the Siuslaw,
shadowed by cedar,
dreaming of spring Chinook,
flickering trout
where her hair waterfalls down.
If she were the heroine of a film,
she would ride a camel
around the world, find
the ruby heart of the world
and bring it home to you.
–Sandy Jensen