Saturday, August 11, 2012

Indian Arrowheads


Louis Copt “Morning Fog

 

Indian Arrowheads

__________________

“Inside — soot from
a cold fire, powder
of bones, a piece
of ceremonial bone”
—William Stafford
“The Indian Cave
Jerry Ramsey Found”
Why the Sun Comes Up
________________

Richard Stauffer—
And James Swint
Picked me up one
Early Sat morning…

Arrowhead-hunting—
Southeast of town
Where I’d never been
Before back then…
____________________

It was wet & cold—
Both of them were
Amateur archeologists
There in Kansas…

The hunting was good—
And there were these
Weird gothic hills that
Stuck up out of nowhere…
___________________

They took me to see—
This old man who lived
In a huge stone mansion
Who was a collector too…

I stood in this room—
With glass-cabinets full
Of Osage Indian points
Plus lotsa prairie death…
________________

We stayed overnight—
The timber had a life all
Its own then us three
Got up in the morning…

Down this river trail—
Old limestone fence-posts
Still standing gaunt and
Scarred by barbed-wire…
_____________________

It was very scary—
For a sophomore kid
Like me a small-town
Naïve gawker type…

A cold Indian dawn—
The Mound People
Still all around and
Not a sound anywhere


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