We are strangers to this place
praising its natural state. No
one comes this way. Fishing
is poor here, it’s not deep enough
for a boat or a raft and certainly
not good for swimming. You
can find arrowheads along this
creek. It is the watering place
for every creature living in this
neck of the plains. Wild ducks
and antelope quench their thirst
in these waters, buffalo once
drank here and white-tailed deer
still come early in the day to take
their fill once the prairie cats,
black bears and coyotes have gone
to their sleeping. We walk this
creek not to hunt or seek artifacts.
We are strolling through what
the universe has accomplished
out in the prairie grass and looking
for a cottonwood or two where
we can pitch our tents in their shade,
warm up a few cans of beans and
pretend for a while that we live here.
Copyright 2009. Fredrick Zydek. All rights reserved.