~~Arkansas woodlands, PL~~

AN OZARK SPRING: a haibun

       I leave the Lucidity Poets Retreat in Eureka Springs, heading south on Highway 23-- the Pig Trail--my mind full of inspiration, eyes tuned to early spring things, Muse (Erato) perched on my shoulder.

       Passing a highway place sign, I see only several gray wooden shacks, perhaps once serving as campmeeting tents.

buildings in a row

under the mountain's sheer drop

Witter weathers well

 

       Farther on, around a curve,

 

cows rest in the mire

of a spring rain-soaked feedlot

close by, the traffic

       Sloping foothills reflect the many shades of spring-new meadows. Black and white cows season the greens--a panorama worthy of postcards and jigsaw puzzles. In pastures close to the highway, I notice

grass under cowpiles

shoots up higher than ordinary

--organic farming

 

 

       Across the road from a church,

 

wispy blonde broomsedge

waves through the graveyard fence

lonely? thirsty?

 

       South of Cass, close to I-40 and the flatlands, are

 

magenta faded,

old poke salet skeletons--

stripped and bleached white,

akimbo from winter winds--

still standing in spring pasture.

 

~~

from windfall persimmons: a collection of Oriental forms, 1995, PL, dba lovepat press