Monday, May 25, 2015

Montana

fishing th’yellowstone
he likes th’shape ‘n movement ‘f th’fish,
it’s all about th’lures
(11-16)





he knows it’s the rainbow –
wye exit, near th’gathering,
they’re changing their clothes
(7-15)






choteau fourth - one view
'f th'events of little bighorn
upsets th'local girl
(10-14)






choteau parade tale –
th’lass is shocked th’blackfoot could be
so drunk and bitter
(7-16)



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grandma talks t’ th’blackfoot –
she’s old, ‘n’ he’s drunk, they agree,
t’th’noise ‘f th’choteau parade
(1-18)







bitteroot valley
elk stop for aspen breakfast -
tenuous balance
(2-10)




whitefish forest tale –
hiking all night, then, at dawn,
big mountain jesus
(9-17)






fishing th’bitterroot,
broke ‘s foot – van ‘f hippies saved ‘s life,
now he’ll pay it back
(6-16)







familiar’ty,
contempt – might be, th’backpackers
‘re wye’s only vis’tors
(3-17)







trout bucket spills, fish
flail in pickup bed, locusts
screech - road to bozeman
(9-14)







small tent in glacier,
food hung in tree, sounds of woods -
she hears bears all night
(2-14)






glacier campsite bear –
they invited her t’dinner,
she had other plans
(6-15)







mirage ‘n th’sun-baked road,
th’needle’s at e, not yet t’moore
off ‘n th’distance, th’mountains
(2-16)







uphill, th'wide prairie -
cyclist on two says he's got
new view of 'big sky'
(10-14)








moore roadside wildflow’rs
focused on th’mountains ‘n th’distance,
‘n’ th’sun’d risen on both
(7-17)






surprise creek baseball -
game with no fences, challenge
to contain oneself
(10-10)







came back t’surprise creek,
found th’grace he was looking for,
‘n th’sunday game ‘f baseball
(9-17)






blueberries in th’sack,
hunk ‘f cheese, water jug, freight train –
west t’ th’idaho line
(8-17)








koot’nai boxcar’s wind –
mountain streams, wildflow’rs in th’sun,
forgets t’watch f’r tunnels
(6-16)







in th’koot’nai tunnel –
th’mountain summer vanishes,
th’rails’ echoes deafen
(6-16)







rising sun cyclist
by day, pedals th’mountain cliffs
by night, campfire tales
(6-15)








glacier pullover –
th’bear’s a year-round resident,
just contempt f’r th’tourist
(4-18)













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rising sun cyclist
th’bear still wonders how th’woman
can be so quiet
(9-17)





th’roads‘re narrow, th’cliffs‘re steep –
cycling th’sun highway, she says,
th’high point of her life
(6-15)






cameron rancher,
hands sore from th’day on th’fences
he’s where he wants t’be
(9-17)







husband’s ‘n stocks ‘n’ bonds,
she says, ‘bout t’ride th’sun road cliffs,
he studies risk ‘t home
(6-15)







thunder, august squalls,
trucker grinding ev'ry gear-
coming out of butte
(1-07)








dawn, whitefish forest
bed ‘f leaves, campfire, and th’view of
big mountain jesus
(9-15)








bear crosses road to
m'ssoula, back into sumac -
and not to college
(8-05)








from behind th’sumac,
th’bear calmly watches th’freshmen
th’attractions ‘f m’ssoula
(6-16)






sumac on th’roadside –
back ‘n missoula, she yearns for
diff’rent kind ‘f future
(11-17)





outside th’town office,
koot’nai woods for miles – inside,
ghost decorations
(10-15)







rains in kalispell -
leaves blown down past camper where
hunters are huddled
(2-10)










raining ‘n kalispell
th’wet leaves falling remind him
how cold th’mountains get
(11-16)








cabin at foot of
elevation mountain - watch
orion stand tall
(2-10)







big mountain jesus
‘n’ th’whitefish forest cup ‘f coffee –
first frost, ‘n’ th’issues ‘f th’day
(11-16)






missoula campfire –
first frost in th’northern rockies,
‘n’ black coffee for th’road
(7-17)






million acres scorched,
tongue river too, th’wildlife’s gone,
first snow, ‘n’ there’s silence
(12-17)




 

going to th’sun road
eastern part closed by th’first ice ‘n’ snow,
west, closed by th’wildfires
(12-17)






elk in th’bitteroots
moves slowly off th’snowy road,
call it th’cold shoulder
(11-16)


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christmas ‘n helena
government should’ve known not t’burn,
lost th’ranch, ‘n’ th’guy’s bitter
(12-17)







missoula new year
party lasts ‘til dawn, they step
into six foot drifts
(2-16)






champagne ‘n’ everclear –
missoula kids didn’t reckon
with th’seven foot drifts
(10-16)









bring on th’four foot drifts,
says th’bozeman lass – better than
for’st fires, any day
(1-17)







considers ‘t hostile –
th’wide ‘n’ flat montana prairie,
all covered with ice
(11-16)




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skiing near bozeman
he calculates th’cost ‘f wireless
‘n’ plane tickets back east
(11-17)







rancher eyes raven,
wolf tracks in snow - there's trouble
in the bitteroot
(2-10)








billings policeman
knows when blizzard's expected
and who'll be stranded
(9-08)







near billings th’car shakes,
trying t’get home f’r th’holidays
th’fear overtakes her
(12-16)




blizzard ‘n th’icy streets –
billings p’liceman reflects on
th’things you just can’t change
(9-17)





ranchers here'n cam'ron
have trouble getting calves through
winter without wolves
(2-10)









gears shift, trucks rumble,
orion pokes fire embers -
butte cloverleaf fades...
(9-05)







field of camas waves -
four dogs, three hikers, old truck,
winds through lolo pass
(1-13)








river ice breaks up,
fishin's good, but he dries out
in a bozeman jail
(1-12)









koot'nai wilderness -
from th'top 'f th'boxcar, th'mountain springs,
watch out for th'tunnel!
(12-14)








cameron rancher –
wary ‘f nature’s predators,
hungriest in th’spring
(11-16)








eureka teller
smiles at loonies and toonies -
spring's come down th'rockies
(2-10)






 
eureka teller
doesn’t mind th’loonies ‘n’ toonies,
‘n’ takes th’hiker’s flowers
(10-16)





days ‘f loonies ‘n’ toonies,
plans t’see th’eureka teller -
now their camas bloom
(9-17)





montana wetlands –
he’s glad th’sandhill cranes came back
from th’bosque d’l’apache
(11-16)






montana wetlands –
so few people, even th’cranes
seem t’know them by name
(11-17)




e pluribus haiku

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