Challenging Poetry

field trip in the mountains during a flash flood

red mud stained tendrils of water cut
new capillaries through a valley
floor—and we, jumping over,
following a line of other students
in a duckling march behind our professor,
shoes stained mud red,
the water moves ever faster
until a slip—quick, back
to the bus! the bank is undercut--
erosion in action.

Prompt: April 22—Earth Day