I read outrage from old hinterland poets
on Facebook to stir my blood, enflame
my brain, pretend that words might quell
injustice with compassion, find humanity
commonplace, or search old dialogues:
mountains, rivers and streams, for peace—
translations to bring home from foreign
lands and times that seem to work here
for a little while. I read to write
when I’m tongue-tied, lend my gravelly
voice to the ancient chorus and try
to sound nice, only to find assonance
puts most folks to sleep. No one needs
to read anymore, translate marks on paper
into better thoughts than when we started—
now that we have open minds and let
technology have its way with us, do it
all as we lay back to enjoy the ride.
No one needs to saddle-up in the dark,
untrack cold-backed broncs to mount
before going to work—they all had names
and personalities when we were boys.
No one needs to reach inside for more
than what we thought we had in those days.
for Red
drycrikjournal 
If your mind is too open, your brains can fall out! I’m a reader, but I know that many these days aren’t. And I can identify a little with those dark, early, cold mornings on horseback. 🙂
janet
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Wendell Berry and Jim Harrison: two writers without whom for me the past, future, and the present would be inconceivable . . . Thanks for this great verse . . .
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Thank you, Peter, it is about writing after all.
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Your words crackle and spark memory!
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As long as our memories last or words on yellow pads
the things we had as boys, from the boats we made from sticks
to the majestic sight we saw, that first shot with a 22
or the flowers we picked for maw
in our minds they will live on… and then drift off into the clouds
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Not many of us need it anymore but there are still a few that want it bad enough that the line between want and need blurs…
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Lord save us from technology and give us strength to listen to the peaceful dialogues of mountains, rivers, and streams. Love the sharp wit in the line “try to sound nice, only to find assonance
puts most folks to sleep.” This is a poem to read and reread.
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Thank you for your kind sense of humor, Susanne.
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