1951

winter

Arizona

Tucson

Lemon Mountain

small guest cabin

scorpion in a shoe

family scurried

dumped out of Illinois

Grapes of Moral Wrath

exiling them for the winter

across Route 66

in the back seat

once golden child

pretends to sleep

on the shelf

beneath the Studebaker window

teddy bear for a pillow

gazing at endless stars

spirit riding above

upon a fast horse

running about a merry go round

dragging feet in sharp sand

testing new trophy boots

we were there so long

many more spins

on the merry go round

flights on the swing

artificial laughter

Christmas

Mrs. Ticklefeather book

three damned copies

of the moronic thing

two ripped apart

in rages long ago

one remains

as silent witness

studio photo

dead-eyed cowgirl

upon a rearing-up

taxidermy

American Paint

horse

reveals the story of

the Tucson winter

black and white boots

stored in an old trunk

our family always stored things

in old trunks believing objects

don’t speak

but they do

even after burning facts

into a Midwestern fairy tale

later

when I edited the fairy tale

they burned my boots