Monday, January 27, 2020

YOKEL ( 16 ) ~









Wind





Where Native has his junkyard

Which is causing all this trouble

With another town down river

About spilled fluids and such

A wind last week came into the

Valley and got snagged up right

At that spot and after it took off

Half of Gardener’s greenhouse

Roof and sailed it somewhere

Wind opened its mouth and bared

Its teeth and shook the earth from

Under Native’s life by knocking

Red pine trees his father planted

Anyway it pleased, some over

Those shit cars, and you just

Wouldn’t believe how the large

Rock maples that have grown

For years along the river 

Were snapped in half 







Woodlot






Here with me everywhere

In the snowy woods

Far from any road —

The smallest animal tracks









Logger





Logger came around at dinner time

And rapped at the kitchen door. We

Could see him through the glass door

Standing there in grimy t-shirt and

Camouflage trousers but had no idea

Who he was. Friendly enough smile.

He introduced himself tipping his head

In a few nods like a shy pony before

Spilling out the reason for his visit.

Turns out the Boy had been over across

River where logger was cutting and with

Another friend fooled with his skidder —

The gears had been played with, seat

Monkeyed over and what was worse

Logger found matches stuffed down

The gas tank and didn’t like it one bit.

I agreed and called the Boy over.

Logger looked at him as I did and

When asked if he had screwed with

The skidder nodded that he had but

Now realizes it was wrong and he

Didn’t mean to. Logger seemed a

Fair-minded sort and admitted he was

Once wild as a kid and seemed to

Satisfy himself with that. Turns out

He is cutting on Cityboy’s land which

Takes driving a log truck through a

Low part of the river, never mind getting

Over there each day for Logger, so his

Job was tough enough not to have kids

Playing with his gear. We left it with

A mutual understanding and an oily

Handprint of Logger on the white porch

Railing where we had stood awhile and

Talked about things around this valley.







Old Trick




Waiting for snow by

Getting everything done




______________
Bob Arnold
Yokel
Longhouse
2011