sThe Earth Forgets


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they buried their elders by firs and pines
but the good earth has sucked back their bones,
washed the soil clean.
they who sang sacred songs to the Mother.
who came from the umbilical cord of the Earth.

today they drum,
wear suits and ties. drive trucks.
walk, talk, sell insurance and crafted wares.
but still they hold onto their feathered headdresses.
dance their rituals where they pitch long cries.
they know their loss.
yet the coyote's eyes still smile and the woodlands
cast their spirit magic.
they see the old gardens,
shoreline villages,
painted caves and chocked full fish nets.
they, whose fathers and mothers
rode the sacred groves,
wandered the Oregon valleys,
crossed the fertile lands,
and the craggy Steens and Wallowas.

today the vast land hosts ranch houses,
timber yards, glass factories,
fenced fields, industrial stacks,
blacktop, 24-7 restaurants,
and five-star hotels.
rivers run jetboats.
ski lodges offer up hot toddies.

Earth forgets with ease.
auctions off sorrow for so little.
these first people see the warm blue sky,
the tragic air and sand from which they came.
hear the voices of their long gone elders
who speak with gentle promise,
brave faces, and a vision
beneath the life giving sun.
the vast lands have forgotten them,
though they not the land.

Lucky

he lurched from the bushes.
stared. declared his presence.
I was staunch, resolute.
no I said.
but he demanded.
he put his chin on my knee.
gave me his two bold eyes.
his red collar said Lucky.
he sat right beside me.
shameless I said.
I jostled.  turned away.
pretended not to notice.
I did my best but his zestful
look had mastery.
humans never greet me
with such affection.
I gave him a half sandwich.
this little fox ate to his pleasure.

I ambled to the park.
sat by a picnic table.
he trotted behind me like my BFF.
no, I said. no more.
go chase a bird.
he refused.
he put his chin back on my knee
and looked straight up.
I broke. 

later I saw him nudge another.
found himself more goodies.
he's not lucky,
I said.
he’s smart.