Jan 23 2011

Friends fall away,
A camel crosses the Sahara.
They buy in the suburbs.
We reach a gorge
Where water cuts rock.
The potted bougainvilleas
On the front porch freeze.
Pine saplings swamped by snow
Cannot block this wind
Stripping the flower bushes,
Making the abandon
Of the English garden
Less likely.
Stony land-spit,
Sharp slopes, the drive up
Far too steep
For most four-wheelers.
Weeds on the banks
That thrive on poor soil,
Erect saffron ropes of mullein,
Wild-carrot, the stems up
From tough roots.
Thinking butterflies
Eat the Queen-Anne’s Lace
When dead and clutched,
Black emperors fly
From the broken cocoons
Nestled in the corymbs
Only in your dreams.

Hardened faces of housewives
Who live near stigmatized trailers.
[Housewives’ faces harden
Near the stigmatized trailers.]
Dairy farmers fix their fence
Before yawning ditches
Once filled with rain.
Who are you demands their looks.
But I’m just passing through.
To your face I won’t tell you
How ugly your house is,
Put you on the spot.
City slicker, how far
Are you above us?
And to what station
Do you aspire?
Put your boots
In manure
With us. Get real.

Beige concrete blocks
Of the shower stall
As waterproof as enamel,
An enameled tooth splits.