Pictures From A Reservation

ABOUT RHYME AND OTHER THINGS

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The mayor is proud of the new town park,

his chain shines in the parade.

When his daughter plays in the band

her smile is a valley in May.

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Radiant girls play tennis

while boys fit on uniforms.

Mothers plant out geraniums while dads

cut grass outside the perimeter fence.

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Inside, life is different, with its neat piles

of shoes, glasses and crutches.

Summer forms a sweet smell in the chimney,

fog gathers in the orchard.

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The television insists that we're all

cutting grass at the perimeter fence.

Some still ask why this poem can't rhyme

like Bosnia, Cambodia and Rwanda.