red clay

 

 very long ago

I heard their voices rising;

language meant for a child

 

the tang of green walnuts

In the depths of red clay

 

 

 

 

... long nights

have you ever noticed
4 o' clock in the morning
is the middle of the night?


all of our nights are long now
since the Solstice moon

song sparrow

song sparrow
her wings flitting
flower to husk

even in dreams
never at ease




>>>

hard red wheat

drought, dry weeds
every sign and billboard
a bullet hole


pheasant chicks in columns
march into the grass

the yearling's death cry
stilled with a penknife -
the only day it rained

curlews choose flight
over Blacktail Dam

pronghorn antelope
plunging across the road
hard, red wheat

a dust trail rises
with the horizon