Tag: Nature

Land Alive by David Chorlton

April 15, 2025

“Land Alive” by David Chorlton

The land isn’t empty, it’s thinking.
What will it become when
the clouds disappear and rocks take their place?
Where will the roads lead

when they reach the edge of human thought
and turn into philosophy
where the compass needle bends
and points toward itself?
How much history
can a lizard carry on its back
when it moves at the speed of a reflection

that waits for no one?
It’s as dark as dreams in the canyon
where shadows conspire
to climb the red walls
and fly, as questions do when

they outgrow any answers
that would have bound them
to the Earth.

Originally published online on September 3, 2024 by Lothlorien Poetry Journal, where you can visit to read Land Alive and four more poems.

About the poem Land Alive by David Chorlton

Discover the poem’s philosophical layers and explore the Arizona desert through Chorlton’s lens.

In “Land Alive,” Arizona poet David Chorlton challenges the notion of the desert as a barren, lifeless expanse. Instead, he breathes consciousness into the land, describing it as a force that thinks, reflects, and questions. The poem opens with a striking declaration—”The land isn’t empty, it’s thinking”—and from this premise, Chorlton invites readers to consider the Sonoran Desert not as a backdrop for human activity, but as a living, sentient presence.

The poem flows like a dream, moving from questions about geography and thought to surreal images of lizards carrying history and shadows conspiring to climb canyon walls. The language is both reflective and elusive, packed with metaphor and subtle philosophical questioning. What does it mean for a road to “reach the edge of human thought” or a compass to “point toward itself”? These images suggest a journey inward as much as outward, where the landscape provokes self-reflection and existential inquiry.

Chorlton, a longtime Phoenix resident and visual artist, brings an abstract sensibility to his desert poetry. “Land Alive” feels at home in his broader body of work, which often fuses nature, art, and meditations on place. The desert isn’t just scenery—it’s a character, an entity with memory and imagination. The lizard, a frequent figure in Southwestern imagery, is transformed into a metaphor for time, memory, and motion—“moving at the speed of a reflection / that waits for no one.”

The poem culminates in a moment of mystery and release, as questions “outgrow any answers / that would have bound them / to the Earth.” In this sense, “Land Alive” celebrates not just the land’s physical resilience, but its capacity to outlive and outthink human limitations.

Themes and Style

Philosophy of Place: The poem explores the mind-like quality of the land, raising questions about its future, history, and consciousness.
Nature as a Living Entity: The desert is not empty but active—filled with thought, movement, and ancient stories.
Metaphor and Surrealism: Chorlton’s imagery blends the real and the abstract, painting a landscape that is both physical and metaphysical.
Existential Tone: There’s an underlying sense of mystery and questioning, with no easy answers—only poetic observations.

Why It Belongs in Arizona’s Literary Canon

David Chorlton has lived in Phoenix since the late 1970s, and his poetry is deeply rooted in the desert Southwest. In “Land Alive,” his knowledge of the Sonoran landscape and his background in visual art converge to create a unique lyrical experience. This poem is not just about Arizona—it thinks like Arizona: expansive, enigmatic, and quietly profound.

Discover more about David Chorlton, his poetic vision, and his connection to Arizona’s desert landscapes by visiting his poet bio page on AZPoetry.com.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

April 11, 2025

“The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

About the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

A timeless meditation on choice, individuality, and reflection—by a poet who once visited Tucson’s Poetry Center.

Few American poems have captured the cultural imagination quite like Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” First published in 1916 in his collection Mountain Interval, the poem explores the consequences of our choices and the paths we choose—or don’t choose—in life. With its evocative imagery and deceptively simple language, the poem has been quoted at graduations, weddings, and funerals, yet remains one of the most commonly misinterpreted works in American literature.

Frost, a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner, made a historic visit to the University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson in the early days of its founding. His reading there further cements his legacy and influence on the Southwest’s vibrant literary landscape. That connection is why Robert Frost is honored here on AZPoetry .com.

Summary of The Road Not Taken

The poem opens with the speaker arriving at a fork in a forest trail during autumn. Faced with two diverging paths, he regrets that he cannot travel both and must choose only one. He examines both roads and decides to take the one “less traveled by”—although he admits that the difference between the two was, in fact, minimal.

He acknowledges that he may never return to try the other path and imagines, in the future, how he will recall this moment “with a sigh,” claiming that choosing the road less traveled “has made all the difference.”

Analysis: What Does the Poem Really Mean?

At first glance, “The Road Not Taken” appears to celebrate individualism—the choice to forge one’s own path in life. However, Frost’s careful language suggests a more nuanced and even ironic meaning. The speaker admits that both roads were “really about the same,” undermining the idea that one was clearly less traveled. The “sigh” he foresees in the future is ambiguous—could it be regret? Nostalgia? Pride? All of the above?

Frost seems to be commenting not just on the choices we make, but on how we construct the stories of those choices later. The poem plays with the human tendency to create meaningful narratives from the accidents and ambiguities of life. It challenges the reader to question how much of our identity is shaped by decisions, and how much by how we later choose to interpret those decisions.

With its layered meanings, “The Road Not Taken” transcends time and context. It is at once deeply personal and profoundly universal.

Robert Frost’s Connection to Arizona

While Robert Frost is often associated with the rural landscapes of New England, his literary influence extended far beyond the Northeast. In fact, Frost visited the University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson, one of the nation’s most prestigious literary institutions. His appearance helped establish the Poetry Center’s early reputation as a magnet for major literary figures and laid the groundwork for Arizona’s enduring engagement with poetry.

Frost’s Tucson visit represents a bridge between classical American poetry and the poetic voices that would later emerge from the desert Southwest. His inclusion on AZPoetry.com honors that connection and his contributions to American letters.

Final Thoughts

“The Road Not Taken” continues to spark conversations about agency, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. Whether you read it as a celebration of courage or a meditation on the illusion of choice, Frost’s poem remains one of the most enduring and enigmatic works in American poetry.

David Chorlton

April 9, 2025

David Chorlton: Bridging Continents Through Poetry

From Austria to Arizona: A Journey Across Cultures

Born in Austria in 1948, David Chorlton spent his formative years in Manchester, England, amidst the industrial landscapes of the northern region. In his early twenties, he relocated to Vienna, Austria, where he immersed himself in the rich European art and music scene. In 1978, Chorlton moved to Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife, Roberta, marking the beginning of a profound connection with the American Southwest.

A Deep Connection with the Desert Landscape

Settling in Arizona, Chorlton developed a profound appreciation for the desert’s unique beauty and its diverse wildlife. This admiration is vividly reflected in his poetry, which often explores themes of nature and the environment. His collection, The Porous Desert, exemplifies this focus, offering readers an intimate portrayal of the Arizona landscape.

Acclaimed Works and Literary Contributions

Throughout his literary career, Chorlton has produced an impressive array of poetry collections. Notable works include:

Poetry Mountain
Waiting for the Quetzal (March Street Press)
The Devil’s Sonata (FutureCycle Press, 2012)
Selected Poems (FutureCycle Press, 2014)

His chapbooks have also garnered recognition, with The Lost River winning the Ronald Wardall Award from Rain Mountain Press in 2008, and From the Age of Miracles securing the Slipstream Chapbook Competition in 2009.

Exploring Fiction and Translation

Beyond poetry, Chorlton ventured into fiction with The Taste of Fog, a novel set in 1962 Vienna that delves into the complexities of a murder investigation. Additionally, he has contributed to literary translation, bringing to English audiences the works of Austrian poet Christine Lavant in Shatter the Bell in My Ear, published by The Bitter Oleander Press.

A Voice in Anthologies and Exhibitions

Chorlton’s poetry has been featured in various anthologies, including Fever Dreams (University of Arizona Press) and New Poets of the American West (Many Voices Press). His work also played a role in the “Fires of Change” exhibition, a collaboration between artists and scientists addressing the impact of climate change on forest management.

‘Benedicto’ by Edward Abbey

April 5, 2025

Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome,
dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.
May your rivers flow without end,
meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells,
past temples and castles and poets’ towers
into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl,
through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock,
blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone,
and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm
where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs,
where deer walk across the white sand beaches,
where storms come and go
as lightning clangs upon the high crags,
where something strange and more beautiful
and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams
waits for you —
beyond that next turning of the canyon walls.

About the poet Edward Abbey

“Benedicto” by Edward Abbey is a poetic blessing for those who seek the wild, the unpredictable, and the profound. Written as a heartfelt invocation, the poem celebrates the beauty, danger, and mystery of the natural world. Abbey extends a wish not for comfort or security, but for crooked trails, endless rivers, vast deserts, and the kind of wilderness that challenges the soul while nourishing it. This is not a typical blessing—it’s a call to adventure, to embrace the crooked and uncertain path that leads to awe and discovery.

“Benedicto”, an excerpt from Earth Apples, captures Edward Abbey’s deep reverence for the untamed landscapes of the American Southwest, especially his beloved red rock canyons of Utah and Arizona. With rich and vivid imagery, Abbey describes a journey that winds through pastoral valleys, ancient forests, and surreal desert landscapes, all leading to a climactic vision of sublime natural beauty.

The poem reads like a mythic map—populated with castles, temples, tigers, and monkeys—yet rooted in the very real geography of the Southwest. His language is both lyrical and raw, oscillating between gentle pastoral sounds (“tinkling with bells”) and fierce natural spectacles (“lightning clangs upon the high crags”). Each line builds toward the final promise: that “something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you.”

This final line captures the essence of Abbey’s worldview. For him, the wild was sacred—a place of discovery, not only of nature, but of self. “Benedicto” is not only a blessing, but a challenge to those who would listen: to leave behind the safety of straight roads and seek the mysterious, spiritual truths that only crooked trails can offer.

Want to explore more of Edward Abbey’s poetry and his deep ties to Arizona’s landscapes?
👉 Click here to visit his poet bio page on AZPoetry.com and discover how Abbey’s voice continues to echo through the canyon walls and red rock trails of the American West.

Stephen Chaffee

April 1, 2025

Stephen Chaffee: Poet of the Arizona Trail

Stephen Chaffee is an acclaimed American poet and retired national park ranger whose deep love for nature and exploration has shaped his literary works. His poetry captures the beauty of the wilderness and the transformative power of outdoor travel.

From National Park Ranger to Acclaimed Poet

Before becoming a published poet, Chaffee led a diverse career. He worked as a national park ranger and pursued academic studies, earning degrees from the University of Delaware and the University of Amsterdam. His background in engineering and literary studies provided a unique perspective that influences his poetry today.

Exploring the Arizona Trail: A 1,600-Mile Journey in Poetry

Chaffee is best known for his poetry collection, The Arizona Trail: Passages in Poetry, which was inspired by his two-time completion of the Arizona Trail—a journey of over 1,600 miles. His book contains 43 poems, each dedicated to a specific passage along the trail, bringing the landscape, history, and people he encountered to life.

What Makes Chaffee’s Poetry Unique?

Chaffee’s work stands out for its ability to blend vivid imagery, historical context, and deep personal reflection. His poetry not only celebrates the natural beauty of the Arizona Trail but also invites readers to embark on their own journeys of exploration and self-discovery.

Published Works and Contributions to Nature Poetry

Aside from The Arizona Trail: Passages in Poetry, Chaffee’s poetry has been featured in journals like The Avocet Journal of Nature Poetry and showcased in outdoor poetry events such as Poetry of the Wild. He actively contributes to community poetry initiatives, encouraging a deeper appreciation for both literature and the environment.

Final Thoughts: The Legacy of Stephen N. Chaffee

Stephen N. Chaffee’s poetry serves as an enduring testament to the bond between nature and human expression. His work continues to inspire adventurers, poets, and nature lovers alike.