Thursday, September 26, 2013

South Dakota: Drive


South Dakota: Drive

Old friends and Indians, drums.   
Shoot a gun.
Horrified and nervous, it makes you want to smoke.

Fear becoming intent on the task:
bullet in the smooth chamber,
greased
wipe off the sand and dirt when you drop it.
The gun is older than you are.
One bullet at a time,
reload
a paper target.

Drive, the back windshield broken on dirt roads.
Your wrong turn.
Set up camp plucking broken glass out of everything.
100 degrees, you are light headed with the strain.

Drive, further and further.
The phone doesn't work and there's nothing you can do about it now.

Drive.
Declare, feeling both clever and sheepish,
maybe you prefer space as metaphor, the flat land and too-straight roads
strange
almost panic  

Drive.  Badlands.
Why bad, the children will ask. Because
no one wanted to live here.
Still,
The Indians said they were holy, a
certain wisdom in that.

Drive.
Buy cowboy boots,
go
to the rodeo, intoxicated by this new culture,
strange and wonderful. 

Wonder at this wild world, your boots you won't want to take off
even as you make the bed,
Laying down safe, even beside the car with so much
broken glass.

The next day, drive.


July 11, 2013: Wall, SD
July 9, 2013: Wakpala, SD


July 9, 2013: St Elizabeth's Church Wakpala, SD




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