Leslie E. Hoffman

Thunderheads broil
above Mt. Charleston
as jagged strikes of platinum lead
roar of thunder rumbling
like a herd of wild mustangs
stampeding down canyon narrows

Vertical sheets of charcoal loom
on horizon, warning
avalanches of water rushing
down arroyos toward desert floor

long after
obsidian sky opens to reveal
a canvas of crimson and lapis