White Devils
Deviled by Flies
Haloed and stung
oppressed by everpresent Hum
Ride on Shouting
through Devils Club swamps
and rocky ridges
Horses slipping
Ride in Cow stink
wet and slippery grass
grass to their bellies
Left Anahim in June
Nineteen and Seven.
to the bleating soundtrack of the calves.
Tetachuck Charlie Hoists his son
His Michel, strong and bright
with shiny new whiteman name
freshly installed by the mumbling priest
"Their Animals smell worst than they do!"
They Laugh
standing on top of an abandoned beaver lodge
as the herd bellows through the Tetachuck Marshes
"Too short, not like moose, I bet they get stuck alot.."
Michel laughs at the strange wallowing beasts
never dreams he'll own his own herd
never dreams fity years of cutting
Cutting the Land with fences
Cutting trees for cabins
Cutting hay with scythe and McCormick Mower
Cutting all he knows into measurable peices
The Herd moves on
leaving behind strange tracks
in strange black mud
The first cow pies
on the hillside
instantly swarm with flies...
taint the air with faint ammonia
for several days
The herd moves on
first to feast on virgin meadows
then to starve
at Tatalrose
on Meager haystacks
chewing Tag Alder
never dreaming winter could last so long
On to grow fat and sleek
with the railroads and the mines
Beefsteak on the mess hall table
Protien for the collective Muscle
Building the ancient land
into straight lines
Bridging the rivers
This day, Crossing the Tetachuck Marshes
the Bovine invaders
have no inkling
of the destiny they bring
to this new land
They only see fresh grass ahead
Hoarse throated cowboys behind
and flies all around.
Nathan Nicholas
July 2005.
No comments:
Post a Comment