"somewhere west"

what then will they say
when the last wagon
has left for San Francisco,
when the life to live
is out west where
the force of the hunt
is left to history,
a biography of hope

what then will they ask
of the collapse
when deep sciences engineer fiction,
future, aerospace wings
to parties reborn dynamic
in heavenly skies-
somewhere west, somewhere north
of north that's beyond space,
beyond earth, beyond rocketry
and trains and steam and wagons
headed west

what then will the murmur be,
an undercurrent of emotion
pulsing cheers happy valley totally
built green mountains rise
grape and bunched and ready
to be stomped, to be stored,
to be drank, changing the religious
to the hungry, to the needy,
and the start will be classic soul

what then is the whisper
of a hardship photograph journal
finding eyes stunning children clinging
down strict education chance
art of the wild royal house
empty, behind, coming up simple
home away from home-
this old car packed tight miracle
rolling along secret to the west,
a barbaric invasion staining highways
confessed sadness true community dance
dream natural strange
and a stranger outside walking
in extreme rapid heated fear

what then is the silence
of the abandoned shack bumped
by a tractor left still odyssey
unknown translated cold brief
almighty standing resilient-
a little curious guardian
of a lonely cornfield plowed over
in a day trip menagerie,
a metal boxed lunch eaten,
a waxed paper wrap floating
unique, scenic yesterday gone
and nowhere to go
but a legacy of different tomorrows

12 Sept 04