Poem: Swerve

Swerve

The wildlife of the Northern Plains

are committing suicide in front of our cars

East Wyoming

Big white-tail buck

a triple-knock tango down the length of the pickup

two blind kicks in the spell of my high beams

Black Hills

Tiny V-wing sparrow

suctioned under the chassis, drop-kicked out the back

arcing the white stripe in a tennis ball of feathers

South Dakota

Silver dollar frogs

flipping like leaves on the black rain asphalt

death  in a whisper on the steady whine of wind

We stop for gas in Sioux Falls

still-eyed, faint

charting the guacamole constellations on our fenders

shaking our heads

drinking our coffee, driving on

A day later in La Crosse

vegetarian pizza, and root beers

we look at each other and

burst out laughing

First printed in Plainsongs

(Hastings, Nebraska)

From the collection Great Showtunes of the American Stage