Wyoming

fishin’ th’med’cine bow –
started out taking pictures
‘n’ just kept coming back
(12-17)






twenty five ‘n’ ninety –
stars ‘n’ th’sounds ‘f diesel trucks, after
five days in th’bighorn
(1-16)







beaver chews th’willow –
makes h‘s home ‘n’ th’shoshone wilderness,
his own little pond
(3-17)





teton ranger's bunk-
rolled up sweaters as pillow,
deep woods out window
(10-08)





medicine mountain –
th’tourists at th’old wheel have t’guess
what things really meant
(3-17)





-->

dusty town ‘f eden –
th’lass wants t’hurry on t’jackson,
he’s struck by th’wide sky
(12-17)





-->
sheridan t’cheyenne –
hauls th’horses ‘n’ hay, ‘n’ rather sleep
‘n th’bales, than some motel
(1-18)




 

ranchers near cody –
walking lines ‘f fence all morning,
love th’ven’son jerky
(7-17)








teton ranger’s bunk –
th’gen’rous hospitality,
dusty sense ‘f order
(5-16)







woke up in ten sleep –
name of th’town, says th’camper, ‘s from the days
‘f long walking journeys
(12-15)







starts t’walk in ten sleep –
worn out shoes, stars ‘n th’summer sky,
ancient tradition
(10-16)







sound ‘f feet on pavement
’n th’town ‘f ten sleep, windows open,
lots ‘f wild critters ‘n th’night
(9-17)








t’jackson from europe,
asks th’locals how t’vacation
without fine coffee
(1-17)







plains ‘t devil’s tower –
wildflowers ‘n’ fresh air abound,
th’motor home needs gas
(9-17)









waits by old faithful –
motor home broke, ‘n’ wants t’see it
do what it’s s’posed to
(1-17)







spends th’week at th’geyser –
th’tourist has t’keep measuring
th’reg’lar interval
(9-17)








devil’s tower tourist –
more impressed by th’wide prairie
‘n’ th’blooming wildflowers
(11-15)







pastor ‘t devil’s tower –
sees even th’field ‘f wildflowers
as th’world ‘f temptation
(11-16)





saratoga's springs
warm, soften trav'ler's bones, then
straight into the platte
(1-12)







at jackson post box,
sunburned wrangler tips his hat
to jewelled vixen
(10-08)








saratoga springs -
steam, sweat, summer of sadness
wash down platte river
(10-08)







saratoga lass –
works ‘t th’town hall, comes t’th’springs t’wash
her troubles down th’platte
(11-15)





saratoga lass –
in th’springs, th’anger from her ex –
then, wash it down th’platte
(11-16)

august moon, tetons –
th’rarest ‘f personal connections
th’most stunning backdrop
(9-16)







so reliable,
ebb n'flow of tourists, geyser -
barefoot on cool earth
(1-12)








cody bank teller
no use for sunshine, summer,
foreign currency
(10-08)








yellowstone bear's plan -
huddled campers locked in van,
milk 'n' cookies for th'cubs
(12-14)







tale ‘f th’yellowstone bear –
knows how t’sneak up on th’tourists,
get some free lunches
(3-17)







beaver eats willow,
unimpressed by mountain peaks -
teton wilderness
(2-10)







hugg'n' th'riverbottoms,
cottonwood shade curves along -
wyoming pallette
(9-05)





old faithful, it’s called –
has those shimmering aspens,
lucky t’see it once
(3-17)







cottonwoods ‘n th’valley,
th’mountains’ hues – fall ‘n wyoming,
th’impressionist’s dream
(11-16)







back in laramie –
rode horses for months, lost th’love
f’r modern philos’phy
(1-17)





saratoga lass –
hot spring, fresh air, hot coffee –
hits him with th’football
(9-17)






-->

posed ‘t th’cowboy statue –
game day, ‘n’ half th’folks’re tourists,
not sure ‘bout th’image
(1-18)







october, point ‘f rocks –
even when th’stagecoach stopped here,
th’most windswept ‘f all plains
(12-17)







fire flickers and dies,
wolf decries frost - darkness reigns
over druid peak
(2-10)







wolf tracks ‘t yellowstone –
first snow tells th’ranger plenty
‘bout th’changing balance
(9-17)






in medicine bow,
old hiker with memories -
halloweens long gone
(10-08)







saints day in bar nunn
mighty friendly to strangers,
with west wind howling
(10-08)








camping in shoshone,
watched by wolf on ridge - beyond,
impending blizzard
(2-10)








east out of casper
looking for gambling payout,
ice sent them to grave
(1-12)






-->

wolves’re after his sheep –
dubois rancher likes th’balance
‘f th’rifle on his glove 
(1-18)










casper mountain road –
hairpin turns, snow ‘n’ ice, th’small sign,
end state maintenance
(12-17)











yellowstone snowshoe
hiker - frozen beard, keen eye
for canus lupus
(3-10)








green river rock springs
large green sign dominates
hibernating plains
(10-08)






green river rock springs,
th’sign glows in th’raging blizzard –
you’d never guess they’re real
(10-16)








lost ‘n th’raging blizzard –
th’green river rock springs sign tells’m
t’stay on th’interstate
(11-17)







thermopolis' ice
power lines coated and glazed
wheels spinning beneath
(10-08)








from warmth of squad car,
says hitching in wyoming's
its own punishment (*)
(6-13)









table rock exit –
th’off’cer’s request for i.d.
breaks up th’frigid morn
(6-15)








checks th’hiker’s i d,
that’s all – winter ‘n table rock’s
enough punishment
(3-17)





she knows ev’ry inch
‘f th’red desert – not inclined t’let
someone freeze in it
(6-15)





u-turn in wamsutter –
her warm eyes, 'n' this frigid plain
could be someone’s home
(6-15)







stopped at table rock,
frigid morn, ‘n’ th’p’liceman offers
a ride t’wamsutter
(1-17)






squad car’s heat blasting,
th’frigid red desert, th’short ride’s
enough t’thaw th’fingers
(1-17)






he’s swung north ‘f denver
‘n march, ‘n’ th’hawk, too, scans th’horizon –
eighty’s th’long road t’th’coast
(1-17)



-->

all th’way down t’cheyenne –
break from calving sheep on th’ranch,
‘n’ th’missus wanted t’shop
(1-18)













th’stream goes into th’green,
but th’beaver’s dammed it – he’s th’first
t’steal from th’col’rado
(1-18)







near lar'mie, dawn breaks
'n field 'f red wildflowers - she calls them
indian paintbrushes
(12-14)








indian paintbrushes –
she hates t’go t’laramie
‘n’ have t’leave them behind
(11-16)







indian paintbrushes –
like th’delicate flow’r, she’s drawn
t’ th’rough edge ‘f laramie
(11-17)








easter hats - back in
laramie, they pose, barefoot,
by th'cowboy statue
(10-14)






came t’jackson from cannes –
th’cowboy’s rough hands touch her arm,
so blunt ‘n’ refreshing
(2-16)



e pluribus haiku