FLINT HILLS EVENING 

“The shadow crawls
up canyon walls”
—Badger Clark
“The Sky Blue Plains,”
SUN AND SADDLE LEATHER
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The Flint Hills evening—
comes slowly down ravines

The rim rocks flush pink—
crawling night shadows
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The cottonwood leaves—
quiver shiver like me

Do they anticipate—
what I know will happen?
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The wind break sways—
knows what night brings

The Flint Hills get still—
more blue shadows come
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After dinner we smoke—
drink some Johnny Walker

The stillness out there—
singing the same old song
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Blow out kerosene lamp—
then to bed together

If only I say to myself—
it’ll be this way forever