Saturday, June 06, 2015

Indiana

indiana dunes –
crackers, cheese, peanut butter,
th’stars over ch’cago
(6-16)







heard ‘bout dillinger
when he was young – now he’s broke
‘n’ sitting on th’same bench
(1-18)









coast t’coast trip, stop ‘t th’dunes
driftwood, breeze, ‘n’ picnic sandwich,
th’gulls’re mildly curious
(9-17)







sleeping bag in th’weeds,
candle ‘gainst th’bush – in th’morning,
up t’chicago ‘n’ th’west
(4-17)



 


philosophical
argument – th’richmond quaker,
drowned out by th’locusts
(12-17)



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armed t’protect th’fam’ly –
he sees th’steamy streets ‘f holland
kind ‘f like a war zone
(2-18)






bridge ‘t new harmony
no need f’r th’town, fishing th’wabash
his kind ‘f utopia
(3-17)






tales ‘f john dillinger,
th’banks he robbed, th’people he knew –
sat ‘n this very bench
(3-17)




 

in richmond th’quakers
seem to have left for th’weekend –
th’crickets’re overjoyed
(11-17)








eel river’s gurgling –
th’kid spews his rage ‘t th’small town folk
who sleep through th’crickets
(6-17)






tales ‘f th’old stud’baker,
june nights, th’streets ‘f south bend – he shows
th’one in his garage
(2-16)






loudly curses th’town,
even th’eel river, th’night, th’heat
they’re th’reason he’s drunk
(2-16)






raised 'n americus -
fished th'wabash, he says, 'n'roamed all'f
tipp'canoe county
(1-13)








shiv on th’gary ramp –
even th’thought of prison life,
chills on th’hottest day
(9-16)



 


goshen flow’r garden
th’rest ‘f th’state falls into decay,
this house, so pretty
(3-17)





outside bloomington,
fireflies by th’millions – th’children
string them ‘n necklaces
(9-17)






world's freshest melons,
posey county moon's shadow -
town called solitude
(5-11)







posey melon patch
she seems t’offer th’best ‘n’ th’sweetest
‘n th’whole wabash valley
(6-17)







posey county lass –
sandy bottomland, lots ‘f sun
her melons’re th’sweetest
(9-17)





tales of snow dragon,
tibetans in bloomington -
monarch stops t'listen
(2-14)






dunes picnic sunburn
sharp pain of needing to be
back around the lake
(1-10)






to her, polk fireflies
elusive, like dad - to him,
too easy to catch
(1-13)






richmond - this town of
quaker seminarians -
cicadas' silence
(5-11)









deer ate th’tomatoes
brown county lass was hoping
t’make some spaghetti
(3-18)










autumn eve, th’wabash
long ago, they chose this spot
t’make their utopia
(6-15)






still gambling on th’colts
‘n’ sure that someone’s fixing it
lost ‘nother paycheck
(12-17)




salem sawmill train,
in th’lumber, he finds th’lass –
she didn’t care f’r school
(10-15)





there’s kin who’ll take her –
wet lumber, wabash-bound train,
fog on th’scarecrow ‘n th’field
(10-15)







dad knows th’whole county –
jumps ‘n th’leaves near french lick, ‘n’ she’s gone –
she plans t’stay off th’roads
(10-15)







fog shrouds orange woods -
tales of flight and secrecy
passing through tell city
(12-13)





leaves ‘f th’hoosier forest
long trip south ‘n’ it’s back on th’road,
acorns ‘n th’sleeping bag
(11-17)








tell city graveyard –
‘nother round ‘f leaves settles in
t’help us forget th’past
(9-17)






deep in the hoosier,
campground fire fades to pink ash -
tomorrow, winter
(1-10)









tell city graveyard –
th’brown woods held secrets, he says,
‘bout who’s free, ‘n’ who’s not
(1-17)






tell city graveyard –
snow dusts th’forest, names’re obscured
‘long with th’frontier lives
(3-17)







indy ramp feeling –
th’long cold hike from coast t’coast, it’s
only just begun
(9-16)




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holiday music –
indiana welcomes him,
won’t let him take th’nap
(11-17)







broadway's faded hues-
quilt of steelworkers' fam'lies,
memories' winter hearth
(1-10)








all 'f indy's left church,
have t'get ready f''r th'holidays -
bad time to hitchhike
(12-14)







terre haute diner's
muddy coffee - new year plans
unfathomable
(5-11)






at gary on-ramp
sun catches hard metal shiv
on icy shoulder
(8-05)





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indy t’memphis ‘n th’snow
asks how far to effingham,
‘n’ siri’s offended(1-18)







goshen buggy’s wheels
crack th’ice on gravel – th’young folks’
car wheels slide ‘n passing
(1-17)







wood wheels crackle ‘n th’ice
crossing th’goshen street, he hears
th’amish lass giggle
(10-17)







near on-ramp outside
of indianapolis -
snow falls on dog's grave
(8-05)







snow on th’crumbling steps –
broadway, he says, once th’center
‘f diverse ‘n’ vibrant life
(6-16)






takes th’studebaker
t’downtown south bend in th’blizzard
reminds him ‘f old times
(3-17)





indiana pike
rest stop blizzard - she longs for
california sun
(5-11)





this state lived for hoops
but march hopes flickered and died
since he threw that chair
(1-10)





deep ‘n th’hoosier forest,
th’snake’s come out t’see what he c’n find –
been a long winter
(3-17)




hammond library –
safe from th’march rains, reads th’clippings
‘f dillinger’s exploits
(1-17)








bad coffee, ‘n’ th’acrid
smell ‘f farm chemicals – even
look forward t’terr’ haute
(1-17)







back alley, south bend
chirps ‘t dawn, n’ th’mice’ve nested in th’seats
‘f th’old studebaker
(11-17)







indy at rush hour –
th’peepers call out from th’lowlands,
ring-road folks’re busy
(6-16)









came here for the race -
a thousand miles to indy
certain spark and fire
(5-11)






world comes to indy
for speed, power, thrills - sun tries
t'set 'n its exit ramp
(12-13)






indy racer’s wife –
husband’s th’fastest driver ‘n th’world,
takes him f’rever t’shave
(7-17)









they come for speed ‘n’ glory
on th’indy loop exit ramp,
grasshopper tries t’cross
(8-16)






just off old nati’nal road,
wakes up ‘n a field ‘f queen anne’s lace
uncommon beauty
(1-16)






queen anne’s lace, dawn’s light –
god’s grace puts you ‘n th’place you’re in,
off old national road
 (~17)





old national road
she dreamed ‘f b’coming a princess,
‘n’ now here’s th’queen anne’s lace
(1-18)







e pluribus haiku

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