Hot iron on hide,
singe and smoke
I’ll always recognize.
We’ve named mountains,
rivers, canyons and creeks
after the first cowmen here
or a faraway feeling
like Farewell Gap
or Hole in the Ground
that lasts longer
than the grip of commerce
and jumbled signage
where the flats
are cut with streets
and impatient traffic.
It’s human nature
to leave your mark
to not get lost.
Poetry is another kind of branding. -Gary Soto
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