Old Jules has post a great southwest poem. — Kenne
Sun dried jerky of your past
Lies heavy on the stomach-heart
Grumbles, protests, lingers
Long, long after cactus
Arid faith
Uprooted by a desert mountain
Cloudburst flood
Has withered, blunted tines
No longer barbed
While jerky past still grumbles
Lies heavy on the stomach heart.
Lie still and watch
Lantern sun swings overhead
This banner day
Sliver moon salutes from darkened sky
Take heart. Take heart. Take heart.
Move the grumble upward to a song
To tines’ decay
Take heart take heart take heart
While dorman hidden succulents
Await return of desert mountain
Cloud burst flood
And full moon rises.
Jack Purcell, From Poems of the New Old West, copyright 2003, NineLives Press
Leave a Reply