Missouri

 current rafters' fire
of brush from sandy bottoms
mem'ries of lost loves
(2-10)









at wentzville, th’road t’troy,
‘n’ th’lazy days on th’river – now,
th’saint louis traffic
(12-16)







crossing th’state line, says
he b’lieves ‘fireworks’ ‘s another
name for ‘missouri’
(2-16)




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‘neath th’mcarthur bridge –
near th’barge mcdonalds, stands ‘t th’site
‘f th’largest ‘f th’hoovervilles
(12-17)


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jeff city pastor –
angry ‘bout th’litter in th’park
‘n’ th’breastfeeding ‘n public
(2-18)








jeff city locusts –
seems like th’whole righteous town scorns
th’mother’s breastfeeding
(3-16)







locusts ‘f jeff city –
church lady tells th’lass, don’t feel
breastfeeding’s proper
(10-16)








long haul t’steamy cape –
he likes th’river ‘n’ its sadness,
and th’zydeco beat
(9-16)







maud farmhouse, lots ‘f corn,
long lane, you c’n see vis’tors f’r miles –
no one ever comes
(3-16)







clear skies up saint jo
way, but river keeps rising -
right over the road
(7-05)








trucks' rumble as bass,
locusts' melody, harsh glow
kingdom city sign
(4-10)









lake of the ozarks
water dirty - but still lets
a boy catch a fish
(7-05)








missouri cow game -
drive through green hills, count, lose all
at cemetery
(2-10)






live in the moment,
steady canoe, shoot rapids
on current river
(7-05)



 




not sorry I tipped,
says th’current rafter – just that
tent ‘n’ wallet got soaked
(3-16)


 



joplin tornado –
wildflow’rs’re back, but she’s stuck on
things that’re gone f’rever
(10-17)






st. gen exit ramp,
weeds aflower, locusts deaf'n -
roads drift into haze
(9-09)





wistful view ‘f th’ozarks –
from th’aisle seat he wonders if
th’fish’re still by that dock
(9-17)





down th’ramp, th’sea of red –
cards’ve lost, but they seem not t’mind
th’saxophone player
(6-17)




a single two-lane
snakes through branson - takes all of
august to get through
(2-10)






y'all come back t'see us,
branson waitress says - august
traffic chokes the road
(1-07)






nashville performer –
came out t’get away from ‘t all,
stuck ‘n branson traffic
(10-16)






at th’walls ‘f cape th’bargemen
push ‘gainst th’last ‘f summer’s water –
they have t’know th’channels
(9-17)





leg blown off in 'nam,
now i sit in bootheel house,
watch weeds go to seed
(9-05)










milkweed patch near troy -
monarch, your road seems less direct,
you, too, should go south
(2-14)







blooming ‘f th’goldenrod –
for th’holt mom, time f’r school – for him,
just looks like ragweed
(1-17)









knows all th’busch stadiums –
she can tell you ev’ry year
they even came close
(3-18)










th’arch, way ‘bove th’city –
autumn sun on its edges,
‘n’ now she’s gone for good
(9-17)






paw paw - she finds fruit
old mines' brogue is named after,
serves it with pancakes
(10-14)




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made th’paw paw salad –
knows th’bootheel, ‘n’ knows where t’find ‘em,
‘n’ he plans t’marry her
(2-18)







four guys in camo,
deer head on th’truck – they, too, stopped
in johnson’s shut-ins 
(10-16)






flash th’lights, t’warn th’drivers –
th’cold holt road trucker says, course
it should be legal
(3-17)







likes mizzou football –
talks it up on deliv’ries
‘long providence road
(12-16)







costumes on nichols –
el’quent civil war beauty
calls herself belle starr
(11-15)








th’outlaw lass ‘n’ jesse,
laid upon by darth ‘n’ th’jedi –
showdown on broadway
(11-15)








hall’ween performance –
th’lass draws crowds t’th’plaza – from th’hill,
warhol ‘n’ picasso
(11-15)









white spires, bridge at cape
dove's wings perched on great river
november's sun falls
(11-09)








ozark pastor's prayer
for new highway echoes - first
snow dusts joplin road
(12-13)



 




first frost, joplin road –
ozark pastor promises
god’ll bring th’new highway
(10-16)






‘lectric joy to th’world
lifts th’spirit – new road t’joplin
would certainly help
(10-16)







king bridge's rumbling -
geese, following the river,
louder than people
(1-13)









south side ‘f carthage, th’monks
make th’divine light show – slow down,
they need you t’notice
(11-15)








carthage monks’ light show –
y’get th’entire old testament
at five miles an hour
(10-16)


 



under lindbergh’s plane –
holidays, ‘n’ you tend t’trust more,
left th’kid ‘n th’terminal
(6-17)



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little church ‘n th’bootheel –
course obama’s muslim, ‘n’ have
a blessed christmas
(10-17)









under lindbergh’s plane,
they watch th’blizzard, and wonder
which flights’ve been cancelled
(9-17)






louisiana,
mexico - missouri towns,
road sign winter dreams
(8-05)






back t’th’hill for lasagna –
what he liked best ‘bout childhood,
th’passion f’r street hockey
(10-16)






weekends ‘f street hockey –
saint louis bricks’re etched ‘n his soul,
‘n’th’cold don’t bother him
(11-17)







quilt on truman's bed
for eighty lamar winters
too close to wood stove
(2-10)







humble lamar home,
bed quilt so close to th’woodstove  -
you knew th’power ‘f fire
(9-16)







quilt by th’woodstove -
lamar tourists tend t’notice
th’close proximity
(9-17)






epiphany feast -
pizza and bottled water
at lambert airport
(1-13)






heart ‘f kansas city’s
sweet barb’cue – blessed relief
from th’harsh plains winter
(10-16)





won’t touch th’budweiser,
says th’blues fan – got th’bitter taste
‘f local brew sold out
(9-17)






lived ‘n texas ten years,
now it snows ‘t th’laclede steakhouse,
‘n’ he just wants th’real thing
(9-17)





u u road’s frozen,
th’woods near seventy glaze ‘n’ shine –
no sign of th’mo-dot
(12-16)





angry at th’mo-dot –
ice storm’s paralyzed th’whole state,
‘n’ they’re nowhere t’be found
(9-17)






thunder bay t’n’orleans,
crossing sev’nty, snow t’hard rain
time f’r cup of coffee
(1-15)



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th’roach ‘n th’saint louis flat –
midnight, snowplows outside, cares
only ‘f you’ve seen him
(4-17)







delmar diner cook –
scorn f’r th’poorly dressed ‘hoosiers’
come in from th’blizzard
(6-15)






ice storm closing in –
truckers’re smart, t’get off th’highway
here ‘n kingdom city
(2-18)





scarred concrete pillar,
icy shoulder - mem'ry of
mcgwire highway sign
(1-11)






cruisin’ th’lou ‘n th’blizzard,
he thinks th’hiker might just want
hom’sex’l experience
(6-15)


 




chunks ‘f ice through th’city,
th’river pushes at laclede –
th’arch, tall ‘n’ impassive
(3-17)








the arch soars, a steel
ribbon cuts, turns - but unlike
my kite, it comes back
(8-05)








plane veers over arch
westbound, a world opens up -
march ozark sunset
(3-10)








foot of the king bridge,
press waits for tournament teams -
sweet sixteen comes home
(3-10)







flooded bootheel plain
march sun, exit bridge doubt me -
bragadoccio
(3-11)








snow into april –
saint loo panhandler’s struggling,
hands about t’go numb
(4-18)







tales ‘f th’new madrid quake –
this water’s washed out th’bootheel
sev’ral times since then
(2-18)









weather breaks ‘n springfield –
remarkable enthusiasm
f’r thousands ‘f fishing lures
(10-16)







painted wall at cape –
to th’bargeman pushing th’spring rains,
we’re th’civilized world
(12-15)






slow ‘n’ steady, th’bargeman
pushes th’spring floods – ‘t th’painted walls
‘f cape, he sees th’folks, ‘n’ waves
(1-17)





lambert lot shuttle
suitcases press on child's doll
now safe from march rain
(1-10)

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bright or’nge, ‘n’ not afraid –
th’butterfly weed greets th’monarch
on th’m’ssouri two-lane
(11-17)








city museum –
from th’airplane’s walkway, th’schoolkids
look down ‘t paradise
(6-15)





iris ‘f saint peters –
th’perfect s’burban flag day, still,
she hopes for more rain
(5-17)





june rain pounds the bridge,
muddy missouri rises -
earth city sign's lost
(4-10)


e pluribus haiku