The Porter Bureau

….

Eighteen Lines About Nine States

Colorado was schizophrenic,
Not sure if it was mountain or plain.
Kansas billboards preached that Jesus saves,
When ADULT stores didn’t block their way.
Missouri cured the Kansas woes
With more green hills and less hypocrisy.

Illinois passed quickly by
So many puns for ‘Effingham.’
Indiana was like Illinois
But without the funny city names.
Be wary driving through Oh-hi-oh,
Its corn-lined roads play twisted games.

Pennsylvania, home of Michael Scott.
But Scranton’s still too far away.
West Virginia complained of hill-top mining,
But those darn hills should be blown away.
Maryland’s here, ah what bliss.
I choose you to end this list.

Eighteen Lines About Nine States.

If I look long enough, I see the
slot canyon
of Escalante and a sandstone
alcove, with
spring
run-off pooling
in an algae filled recess while the
trickling
water
fall
waits
for a flash flood to stain the wall Black like hieroglyphs found at the
end of a sandy trail
only the ranger knows.

In my mind the moon is shining, or are
The stars that much brighter out here among
The sagebrush and gypsum? I admit
It could be recollection, backlighting
Student faces into obscure shadows.
No, it is night because we never arrive
During the day. Bundles of gear walk
Themselves into the building and spread
Cocoons of nylon beside the cryptobiotic soil.

The stars (moon maybe?) shine past a vacant
Roof outlined only by wood too dry to rot.
Did I forget to say that Temple Mountain Hilton
Isn’t a hotel? I’m bad at telling Stories;
Memory gets in the way of nostalgia.
This husk and other buildings litter the base
Of the mountain, relics of Utah’s uranium boom.
The mines are only a short walk from here, but I
Won’t take you; it’s night still in my mind
And the winzes shafts remain uncovered.

“Uranium Capital of the World”
They once called this place.
Now tailings leak leukemia down
The Colorado into Las Vegas
Swimming pools. But tonight, these sandstone
Walls surround us in a shelterless embrace.
Nothing left but four walls evoking
Test range footage.

A celestial body rises
And it’s time to sleep or wake. Did I Mention?
The stars are bright out here
Among the sagebrush and gypsum