Sedona

VVAZ
Viva Arizona!
A lone sand stone bench stands
between mountain mahogany
and crumbling red rock furniture
of a perfect garden patio
in memory of souls lost to a better time
while the same winds as always
blow the silktassel and feather dalea
and the natives of the indigo generation
drop into bowls at the teen center skate park
on the precipice of another backside canyon and desert oblivion
the basketball court, the soccer field, the baseball diamond, the swimming pool
over the top and under the lights, the money rolls
tumbling down and flying overhead
leaving me with the steady drone
of white noise lying deep beneath
the howling wind and all their colorful shiny objects
fancy clothes and cell phones
racing to win another scenic view
careful to avoid the animals and the drunken indians
swept under the carpet of broken glass detritus and tumble weeds
I tiptoe through Black footed Daisies
and snake weed labeled alongside
Pointleaf Manzanita -Heather family-
I ignore the genus and study its peeling bark
and laughter of the dog park walkers.
I wiggle my way between the prickly pear
and the whereabouts of my elusive destination,
memories and injuries, regrets and excuses
Hem said hesitation increases in relation to risk
in equal proportion to age,
to never confuse movement with action.
We struggle to invent and adopt reality
weighing the sun against society,
the rain, the snow, the hurricane, the earthquake,
setting the stage for heros and goats,
their big moments, shows for the sheep
and the cows, who we know,
eventually always head home.
Life is a succession of misunderstandings,
full of disappointments, leading us on
to the final truth, the only truth!
I piss on private property if its green
and no one sees me
I hide and I find
a lock of hair braided in purple ribbons
hanging in a juniper tree, so that I can see
I'm not the first one here nor there
I don't want to argue
I'm just happy to scamper like Gambels Quail between
the twisted trails of the wild boar
and the burned out branches
of another fallen ghost
forgotten or preserved like frozen bones of a petrified forest,
pitted like stone and chiseled into psychodelic music
the windwood singing sugar sumac
from the inedible cashew family
Please, Father, Mother, Sister
hear the flutter of my hummingbird's wings
for I am on my way.


Nice Indians

Code talkers and Curios
A particle board collage and
a giant hula hoop dream catcher
Moenkopi, Tuba City, Monument Valley
Dear Peter, Nice Indians all around me.
You can't conceive of the pleasure in my smile
Neil Young sings to the Navajo Nation
Silver tinsel clings to a road sign through Flagstaff flurries
Elk Crossing, corpses lie roadside rotting, ravens pick bones
A faded double full length portrait on the side of a water heater
paint peeling, weathered faces, braids and ponytails
full length costume robes, impossibly skinny legs
tall and top heavy, leather fringe
the gas station riff-raff, a squeaky hinge,
paying unleaded $2.87
electric flashing cheap beer commercials, beef jerky
the odd baseball cap, a pin wheel
the parking lot, a wide load of hay bales
A child runs smiling his arms spread wide
like an eagle flying against the drizzling rain
clowning for his brothers inside
a doorway watching
Their cement block shelter atop a desert mesa,
Gray Mountain still in winter watching spring
spread out below them
the blue profile of rains driving across stretches
of endless empty views.