Born of a "10 word" contest, based on several beautifully rugged places in western North Dakota…
Cool breeze in my face,
elbows lean on wood rail,
a hardwood deck floor
beneath bare feet,
warm, sensuously smooth
for skin rubbed rough
in dampened boots
and wool socks caked
with coal dust.
Work worries left behind
in quiet contemplation,
as wild willows sweep low
over waves of Lignite Creek,
reaching to kiss water
as boats of foam swirl by.
Across rustling prairie,
a coyote’s lonely cry
splits the muted night.
I turn and slip away
through sliding doors,
stop to stir a dying fire,
then wonder once again
at twists of circumstance
that brought me here
to this dirty work,
to this cherished home,
to this stark and lonely place
of meadowlark voices
and sculptured bluffs
that stand beneath
a painted canvas sky.
Casey Mack (2007)
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