The Afar Triangle

I found this poem on the net. It was written by Louis Flint Ceci. As a geologist, it touched my soul, and continues to do so each time I reread it. For those of you that don’t know, the Afar Triangle, in southern Africa, is a triple-juncture – a spot where three tectonic plates coincide. I know of no other triple juncture on the face of the earth. The three places I would like to visit before I die are 1) the Afar Triangle, 2) Iceland and 3) Jamaica. These three locations are geologically unique on the face of the earth. Here is the poem:

The Afar Triangle I do not know the way a planet thinks. I cannot plunge my hands deep in my own clay The way a mountain plunges through the crust, Nor run wild as a glacier through The temples of the gods, nor sing a single note That slides along the lips of the caldera. But here That wisdom thunders through my feet, And shows the dance is measured By dancers keeping beat, By those whose only measure is the dance

June 14, 1999 August 31, 2000

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