A rock is a hard place

After Psalm 61

Running across burning sands,

pursued by darkness, I see

the rock looming ahead,

stark and jagged as it thrusts

upward, casting its column

of shade to defy the burning 

sun. a rock in the desert,

a tower. The rock is cold

in the heat; the rock is hard

in the soft sand,

A rock is a hard place,

when a hard place is 

the need, a hard place

of refuge, or protection,

a hard place to provide

safety, a rescue from peril,

the peril of enemies,

the peril of self.

Photograph by Pablo Garcia Saldana via Unsplash. Used with permission.