DESERT PATINA
By Jennifer Handy
Over hundreds of years, certain rocks develop a varnish of clay. Rock rust, some people call it.
Over hundreds of days in the sun, your skin turns to bronze and develops an impenetrable layer of sebum and sweat.
Patinas are a function of time.
Petroglyphs are made by scraping the rock rust to reveal the natural color of the actual stone.
If you stay too long in the desert, your skin forever retains the patina.
After ten years spent alone, your thoughts become encrusted with dun-colored sand.
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Jennifer Handy explores environmental issues in poetry. — We are tremendously inspired by the poetry we’ve received and honored to highlight this writing in ZO Magazine’s Decennalia Poetry Expo.
