my front yard & my road
& the front yards across the road
one gleaming sheet of water
trees rise from mulch islands, trees
double in water covering my lawn
palm fronds etch my yellowed driveway
sea water lapping his shins, barefoot
neighbor Billy stands & shouts
I’ve never seen this! the tide pours
through the culvert into the pond
plastic floats by, my dock is sinking
five gunshots down the road after dark
I close my book, turn off the light
lie flat — maybe they won’t see me
Myths and Texts [excerpt]
by Gary Snyder
"Wash me on home, mama"
— song of the Kelp
A chief's wife
Sat with her back to the sun
On the sandy beach, shredding cedar-bark
Her fingers were slender
She didn't eat much.
"Get foggy
We're going out to dig
Buttercup roots"
Dream, Dream,
Earth! those beings living on your surface
none of them disappearing, will be transformed.
When I have spoken to them
when they have spoken to me, from that moment on,
their words and their bodies which they
usually use to move about with, will all change.
I will not have heard them. Signed,
( )
Coyote
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