arizona

baked out wash near why,

still asleep, th'cool hours 'f morning -

th'rattler disapproves

(12-14)

sky harbor pilot

scorns hazy summers, but loves

t'lift right up out 'f them

(11-14)

window rock on fourth -
this ain't ar'zona, he says,
but sure is th'u.s.
(4-10)

sixty six motel -
gideon's cool, but kingman's walks
egg-fry hot by nine
(5-10)






somewhere outside why
desert summer stillness asks -
always traveling?
(11-05)

car breaks down 'n oracle,

kid's sure it's sign of god - hiker's

back on dusty road

(11-14)

like geronimo -
hides in apache cave, scorns
air conditioning
(7-05)






oatman's wild burros
bob for apples - ghost tale of
some irish miner
(1-13)

decorated skulls -

bisbee schoolteacher explains

nat'ral confusion

(11-14) 

two vets, red poppies,

phoenix walmart parking lot -

a little conflict

(11-14)

philly - l.a. hitch,
jalapeno grits 'n' stuffing -
mesa hol'day grace
(11-13)






balloon santa, propped
up on phoenix lawn, inches
from prickly cactus
(12-11)






tucson saguaros,
twinkling stars greet the new year,
guard pass through mountains
(9-08)





snow on strip pinon -
canyon's fresh blanket shelters
from mormon country
(2-10)



played th’clubs around flag,

she says, mitten on her tears –

she, too, does his songs

(5-15)

navajo blankets,
ride, from gap to snowed-in flag,
remain unfinished
(4-10)

tonopah exit -

even the desert winters

strike him as extreme

(11-14)






cactus garden brims
with exotic blossoms in
phoenix midday sun
(7-05)






saguaros stand guard -
joy of desert chicory,
escape from tucson
(4-10)






phoenix traffic - swath
of mexican gold poppies
don't mind the diesel
(4-10)

tucson beer garden –

she left him here ‘n th’blooming yuccas,

he still plays th’beeswing song

(5-15)

sunrise, from small tent
wide, pastel, ancient landscape -
easter, hermit's rest
(1-14)





-->

ajo lass – th’blooming

cycle ‘f th’organ pipe cactus

‘s one thing she knows well

(6-15)

sonoran peoples,

th’topic ‘f h’r books – tucson folkfest,

th’present attraction

(6-15)

slight may rain, th’red blooms

of th’ocotillo on ten –

sudden change of mood

(5-15) 

serious saguaros’

flow’rs hold out in th’sonora heat –

and th’town’s called carefree  
(5-15)