topographical map of self

There are moguls –

bumps in the path,

slashes from friends

gashes from stigma

and religion became

this endless black ravine

not to mention

the Grand Canyon

of break ups

the ash hills

dead earth

where I burned

the lava bed, still

smoldering, kindled

by chronic disease

and injury, endless

seas, sand dunes

cast by wind and tide

a landscape shaped

by a deluge of pain. From this view,

the scenery takes my breath.

Molly Murray

Molly Murray is the author of Today, She Is (Wipf & Stock, 2014) and the Outdoor Editor of Panorama: the Journal of Intelligent Travel. Her poetry, stories and essays are published widely in places including Litro, Ruminate, Panorama, Third Wednesday, The Wayfarer, The Windhover, Fearsome Critters and The Curlew; one of her poems was nominated for a 2019 Pushcart prize. She earned her MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow and a certificate in YA Fiction and Poetry at the University of Oxford Summer School.