Williams County 5 Vignette

twice it plies
Little Muddy's twisting banks --
Autumn Equinox






mile markers
in every headlight --
convoy on the 13th night

alone with a mirror
trying on these cowboy hats --
Autumn sky








heat and drought,
weeks gone by and still no rain
grass as dry as tinder
an Angus calf all caught up
in a few bare strands of wire








  a river of fog
high above the coulee --
prairie greets the dawn

Williams County 5 -
pheasant children waiting
all along the road







black-tailed deer
waiting in the blowing dust,
 a last leaf falls
the only tree within
miles and miles

Little Muddy

milkweed spills its silk -
abandoned shacks, the barn, a loo
recall a time before
















dust and grease, the sticky clay
a drilling rig's relentless motion






on the longest day; the heat of the sun















the Little Muddy is dappled
while sunset tints the twilight, too
as for the mayflies' fall
so begins the sparrow's reign

The World's Largest Buffalo

drought-
this light through the clouds
casts no shadow






hold on tight
and lean into the wheel-
wind from the south





ominous clouds-
the world's largest buffalo
come face to face