Morning at the Painted Wall

Marilyn Wolf

Sunlight slides down the canyon wall
revealing a murmuration of color 
breaking forth from pegmatite
within the structured gneiss.
Flecks of mica, quartz, and hematite glint like iridescent 
feathers on the necks of a thousand starlings
as the birds break away 
from the structured earth.
My eyes dart across the rock 
trying to capture all the colors
before the sun changes direction
and they’re gone.

The Science

Last fall we visited The Painted Wall in Gunnison National Park consisting of gneiss and pegmatite, both igneous rocks. The liquid pegmatite infiltrates gneiss and hardens later. Pegmatite crystals are often big enough to be seen with the naked eye. With the contrast, the pegmatite appears to have been painted onto the gneiss of the wall. Iridescence appears when a reflective surface changes with the angle of viewing or illumination. Mineral flecks within the pegmatite often appear iridescent in only 2-3 pigmented colours from thin-film interference. The iridescence on starlings is due to microscopic feather surfaces with a broader range of colours and no pigmentation.

The Poet

Marilyn Wolf has been writing since childhood. Internationally reviewed In Celebration of the Death of Faeries is her first chapbook. Her work has been published in several anthologies and displayed in galleries. She writes and edits regularly in a variety of publications on Medium.com as @Wolfen25. She is a member of local, state, and national poetry organizations. She is a past 1st VP of the Poetry Society of Indiana and current Director on the Board for Indiana Writers Center. Pushcart Prize nominee.

Next poem: My Hand Is A River by Sarah Osborne