Idaho

sawtooth campfire sage –
total number ‘f stars you’ve seen
‘s your quality of life
(2-16)





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on her fav’rite horse –
long ride ‘n th’payette, ‘n’ th’whole summer
spreads out ‘n front ‘f her
(2-18)





cour d'alene boxcar
shuts out steady mountain rain
pine smell slips through cracks
(7-05)






boxcar’s dry ‘n’ dusty –
outside, cour d’alene shower,
inside, th’monarch’s dance
(4-16)









nez perce elder’s camp –
world ‘f culture’s come to this,’n’ now
th’kids won’t learn th’language
(3-17)







bitter years at camps;
minidoka memories -
locusts at window
(3-10)






minidoka tale,
locusts screeching - years ‘f labor
questioned th’nisei’s faith
(2-16)








screeching ‘f th’locusts –
comes back to minidoka,
remembers th’haiku
(10-16)








carneys’ve come t’nampa –
three guys with muscles ‘n’ tattoos,
th’soft-eyed lass, th’driver
(10-15)







set up th’ferris wheel –
she’ll take tickets ‘n’ feed th’an’mals,
th’stampede’s one ‘f their best
(10-15)






where you been, ‘t’s nothin’ –
soft voice, rough edge, carn’val lights,
th’snake river stampede
(10-15)





up close, th’smell ‘f horses,
leather, breath of th’alcoholic –
‘round th’corner, th’stampede
(10-16)







underside ‘f th’stampede –
couple ‘f carneys’re into meth,
tell by th’look ‘n their eyes
(8-17)






old bug, peace sticker –
panhandle summer showers
makes folks feel so small
(4-16)







fry bread 'n' huckleberries -
spit grease, cars on twelve, the sounds
of his own footsteps
(10-14)







fled pocatello
took enough to camp in these
cottonwoods a while
(2-10)







poc’tello cott’nwoods –
man’s willing t’fish, camp, hide out
long as he has to
(10-16)



 

unearthly, th’lava –
hiking th’sawtooths, ‘n’ felt like she
had t’see th’craters ‘f th’moon
(1-18)





th’sun ‘n th’wide open lands –
truck broke, ‘n’ th’old guy got a lift
far ‘s cream can junction
(1-18)









quarter in the snake,
small plop of an august dream-
undammed illusions
(1-07)









boxcar, cour d’alene –
mountain rain, tea, ‘n’ labor day,
‘n’ th’deer, too, just watching
(12-17)








couple ‘f years ‘n th’city –
come back f’r th’pleasures ‘f outdoor life,
‘n’ th’war bonnet roundup
(12-17)





war bonnet roundup –
she describes th’rough kind ‘f pleasure
'f getting thrown off th’bull
 (3-17)







hell's canyon rafter -
moment of calm, gold leaf,
reflection in th'snake
(10-14)






rafting hell’s canyon,
thought he was in paradise – then,
th’gold leaf fell on th’snake
(3-17)




hunter’s moon, boise –
rancher kids looking f’r place t’drink,
maybe a fight ‘r two
(10-16)







hunter’s moon, boise –
th’other guy picked th’fight, he says,
‘n’ puts th’teeth on th’train track
(10-17)






from th’kitchen, th’sawtooths –
th’turkey, th’stuffing, all th’gravy
acan’t hide her anger
(10-16)






first frost, morning chill,
coffee, trout on open fire -
bitterroot breakfast
(9-14)





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alberta t’vegas –
first frost ‘n’ th’taste ‘f some fresh-cooked eggs
in th’pocatello diner
(1-18)





th’haiku ‘f imprisonment –
back ‘n minidoka ‘t th’first snows,
‘n’ rememb’ring each word
(8-17)






cour d'alene drunkard
unfolding torn cali map -
damaged by first snow
(1-12)







twelve hours from th'coast,
fills tank, but waits out th'blizzard -
welcome t'idaho!
(10-14)






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snow ‘n th’boots, sandpoint lad
feeling kind of cold ‘n’ lost, but
found th’local brew’ry
(1-18)









from th’bridge, quarter ‘n th’snake –
hope f’r a better year, ‘n’ t’forget
th’things you can’t undo
(10-17)









moscow scholar’s tale –
standing over by th’egg nog,
got careless ‘n’ spilled it
(12-17)






blizzard ‘n th’panhandle –
chops wood ‘n’ says, you’re better off
without th’government
(10-17)






panhandle woodsman,
winter's wood surrounds cabin-
sawdust falls from beard
(1-07)







panhandle cabin –
‘nough wood t’last, sawdust rubbed hard
into th’icy path
(3-17)







church basement ‘n boise,
blizzard howls outside – in here,
coffee ‘gainst th’urges
(4-17)






ice’n idaho falls –
slid right off of old butte road,
took two days t’get’m out
(3-17)





sun valley skier –
nordic cheekbones, perfect tan,
which she got on th’slopes
(2-16)





sun valley skier –
worked on th’fine tan up on th’slopes,
ready t’go t’europe
(3-17)







just outside sandpoint,
runs her car into th’snowbank –
gets t’meet all th’neighbors
(2-16)








sawtooths' snow-capped peaks -
she serves the onion soup with
pointed suggestion
(9-14)








window sealed against
moscow snows - not like russia,
'cept for the vodka
(1-12)









off twelve, th'wilderness
thaws and awakens - the fish
watches the hiker
(9-14)







boise laundryman –
th’fam’ly takes pains t’celebrate
th’chinese spring fest’val
(11-16)







saint joe forest home
bear knows where fish jump in spring -
let him have first try
(10-05)








they called it the red
'cause it ran red with salmon -
they came up hungry
(4-10)







salmon and coffee,
sun on lolo pass camas -
glad i'm home, he says
(1-13)






lolo pass camas –
‘n th’mountain fog, they kiss, grateful
f’r trav’ling companions
(11-16)






over lolo pass ‘t night –
camped in this field ‘f wild camas,
never went back east
(9-17)






th’old black cali plates –
th’bug’s a treasure, ‘n th’spring rain ‘n’ fog
‘n th’panhandle mountains
(7-17)






grandpa pulled salmon
from th' river by th'bucketfull
's why it's called the red
(1-12)







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







th’pretty purple flow’r,
th’red fish camper want you t’know,
called th’elephant’s head
(3-17)





 

steep ravine ‘n th’sawtooths –
th’joy ‘f th’wildest kinds of beauty,
‘n’ th’patch ‘f elephant’s heads 
(12-17)





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deep in th’kaniksu,
th’pack river brings th’snow melt down,
th’ghost town’s lost th’spirit (1-18)






weiser fiddler's tale -
a world of travels end in
small town festival
(11-14)






in weiser, th’fiddler -
playing th’mel’dy, he says, ‘s like
rafting hell’s canyon
(12-17)







weiser fiddler’s laugh –
clear day, mountain music fest,
‘bout as good’s life gets
(10-16)



e pluribus haiku