They bore the winds of time
as they rose from arid lands.
They sun poked past one peak
while my work crew waited
to move to another place on the highway,
and we knew the day would fade.
We knew
highways must always be mended
and the same with our lives.
We spoke in hushed voices
among these hills
made when the earth shifted.
Somewhere beyond rested
a blanket of stars.
We let traffic pass
and two of us held stop/slow signs
and they would stand at the ends
of the work zone.
Along the highway was a casino
and a bar. If we listened closely
we could hear a breeze tell a story
of the old west. Some patrons
gambled their fortunes every day
and they lived in shadows
of pioneers who gave their lives
for this land.
Every time something was lost
it would be time to start again.
One man I stopped said
that it rarely rained but when it did
it stormed.
To this day I envision him
when his house would shake to the sound of thunder
nestled under a deep cover of darkness.
It was a way of life to him.
Katie’s ribs pressed against her skin,
the sharp angles of a body once soft.
She lifted her blouse, let me see—
the stubs, the little bumps,
two perfect incisions smooth as marble.
I swallowed.
Physically lubricious—I couldn’t do it.
Her perfume fought the chemo stench.
Coiffed mascara, a careful face,
a practiced smile, teeth too straight.
She asked if I still wrote poetry.
I said nothing.
Once, she stretched across the hood of my car,
blonde roots peeking through red box dye,
sipping melted ice from a gas station cup,
her freckles a map I traced in secret.
She could talk for hours,
a queen without a kingdom.
She whispered after the hysterectomy,
baby gravy’s got nowhere to go.
No need for rubber—
I trust you.
I left the room, shame humming in my jaw,
the sound of her voice stuck in my teeth.
Later, I cried.
Idea of profit hope for snowflake March and November rain. Are you leading back to Rapid City or Pine Ridge?
I was in the halfway house in Mitchell. Did you visit the Corn Palace or the doll shop?
I heard you are in Aberdeen. I am still your dream?
Symmetrical preponderance stopwatch courthouse cuckoo clock
Spitting on gravestones North Minnesota
Idea of profit hope for snowflake March and November rain. Are you leading back to Rapid City or Pine Ridge?
I was in the halfway house in Mitchell. Did you visit the Corn Palace or the doll shop?
I heard you are in Aberdeen. I am still your dream?
Symmetrical preponderance stopwatch courthouse cuckoo clock
Spitting on gravestones North Minnesota
Oval day broke and hunger looking for $5 meal
Walk into the discount store. Food fossils line the shelves, with beverages stacked in dusty years and bread petrified with mold, hard for two weeks. Jesus sings to shoppers from the boombox. Nero mocks Biden for losing to Caesar. They ban weed and *********** but hand kids assault weapons for school shootings. Broadcasts sold in installments to poor folks play on countryside AM like Roosevelt’s nightly chats. Jesus is a friend, but compassion ain’t rent. Social Security and EBT rolled cigarettes . Get a job, hit the streets, and hear jail anthems for the broken. Jesus’ blood drips, Buddha weeps, and they spit on my poppy’s grave. Rome is for Romans, commandments nailed for Judas, and the American dream turns to apostasy. The Samaritan’s gas tank runs dry. Billionaires make their riches from fraud, while Protestant TV preachers fleece the flock. The revolution flickers on the tube. Why is God love, Jack?
Steel insulation warm thin hot smooth downy shepherd smoothness. Pistol clasps palms crystal misses birching basket weavers.
Fluffy firm pedestals release hard deniers.
Doldrum office charts demonstrating
Appendages conceal resistance.
Halcyon boogie board heroes.
Greek play rehearsal.
Steel insulation warm thin hot smooth downy shepherd smoothness. Pistol clasps palms crystal misses birching basket weavers.
Fluffy firm pedestals release hard deniers.
Doldrum office charts demonstrating
Appendages conceal resistance.
Halcyon boogie board heroes.
Greek play rehearsal.
Spoon and smacks, a sweet screw and strap,
Skank cucumbers, sugar's hammer bed;
The donut hotdog, sausage swing to lap,
A slide of neck, a drum of meat and head.
Fur, nipples, pickles, bear, and bull do juice,
The twine, pole, grab leather boots;
Belts, handcuffs, laces, panties, and the noose,
Sword, slave, lipstick, eel, antler, and the hoot.
*****, tunnel, clam, purr, kitty, volcano,
Mussel, worm, shell, and underwear of fleece,
Pussy, thermostat, screams of spank and hollo,
Ashley, pomegranate, hips, and strawberry kiss;
Peach butt cheek, bite, chokecherry and the lips,
Tunnel, vulva, cherry, breasts, and neck.
Spoon and smacks, a sweet screw and strap,
Skank cucumbers, sugar's hammer bed;
The donut hotdog, sausage swing to lap,
A slide of neck, a drum of meat and head.
Fur, nipples, pickles, bear, and bull do juice,
The twine, pole, grab leather boots;
Belts, handcuffs, laces, panties, and the noose,
Sword, slave, lipstick, eel, antler, and the hoot.
*****, tunnel, clam, purr, kitty, volcano,
Mussel, worm, shell, and underwear of fleece,
Pussy, thermostat, screams of spank and hollo,
Ashley, pomegranate, hips, and strawberry kiss;
Peach butt cheek, bite, chokecherry and the lips,
Tunnel, vulva, cherry, breasts, and neck.
Four faces
ten cows
40 people
a river runs through it
Aberdeen Rapid City Sioux Falls
crops of corn soybeans
hog factory ethanol highway interstate
flat plains shadow of Rockies
sparse vast country music cowboy hats
pickups tractors American flag whackos
jacks coyotes
buffalo paddlefish grasshoppers deer crows
vulture walleye pheasants otters cattle grain
green sky derecho buffalo
ghost towns railroad
Homestake mine caves peaks
tribes pioneers reservation farms
million Big Siouxland
crickets chirp
plains old west
motorcycle rally August
blizzard snow hot humid
snaps cowgirl Indian boyfriend
The sound of buffalo meat on her teeth,
Taste the smell of sleep,
Cannabis wafting,
Chew the diamond, steal the slipper,
Call the captain and skinny dipper.
The palm fronds climb.
Squaw walks whiskey hills
Eyes cracked wide shut
Gripped by the hunger of a world,
chasing visions
The moon bleeds through the window
The stars hum a song of youth.
Whisper is jealous of Josh's black leather boots and Katie's fur lined boots, so they have a threesome to make up for it. They frolic in the moonlight, playing the oboe, xylophone, and vacuum, drooling and spanking each other. Then, the platypus, jackal, and whale join in, hammering out a rhythm on the pajamas, racing the tortoise, and jumping the rabbit's tail. Suddenly, the clocks, magazines, and movies come alive, streaming dirty gray hounds, tungsten spigots, mothers' spleens, kidneys, and tonsils, and cannabis shouting at the moon. The saxophones vomit sand and the pianos strike Jacks, while clouds batter receipts and panty liners. Finally, the cantaloupe refrigerator seals the deal, and the night is filled with laughter.
Made a cuppa coffee this morning
Forgot about it
I think I ate breakfast
Can’t remember what
I combed my hair
Singular
Musta brushed my teeth
They’re back in my mouth
I wear a shirt that reads
“IF FOUND PLEASE RETURN”
Socks that disagree with each other
Shirts that read like a virtual menu
Shoes that tie themselves
The best place to look for my glasses
Is in the lost and found pile
I shave when my beard
Gets to that itchy stage
Bathe when the dog moves
To the far end of the couch
I laugh a lot
Not always sure why
Or for what reason
I have children
And phones
That are smarter than I am
Yet nowhere near as wise
When my doctors ask
“any questions”
I reply
“yeah, what’s the capital of South Dakota”
They are generally not amused
I don’t think they know….
Gigantic pylons of wind-carved granite
Form astonishing pillars of natural wonder
Sculptures to rival Borglum's finest faces
Perilously perched along the winding trail
Punctuating the Black Hills with awesome
Commas of towering mystical totems
Where once the proud Native Americans
Roamed with the buffalo in blessed peace
written August 25, 2021
miles away from any town
deep darkness falls upon plains
wayside conversations
at the edge of a deserted highway
in solitude poets and lovers
new meanings sought
a blank page seeks its verse
stars and planets hide
the world turns toward light
revelations of dawn
August 9, 2021
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