troysherdahl

I want to see

the Big Muddy

before I die

Big Muddy, Big Muddy

badlands not so bad

buddy

I’ll wear my old boots

ride a bronc

punch cows

shoot a Colt

Big Muddy, Big Muddy

vistas from those hogbacks

must steal a breath—

those Great Plains rolling out

rustling grass carpets

to a jagged-toothed horizon

biggest sky and buffalo effigy

I wish bison still roamed

in millions— in First Nations

the Big Muddy was hallowed

for it’s big spirits

Outlaw Trail for Sundance Kid

Dutch Henry, Sam Kelly

Coyote Pete and Pigeon Toe—

prickly cactus and hardy flowers

are the only Wild Bunch now

Big Muddy, Big Muddy

I’ll climb Castle Butte

and catch the prairie wind

I’ll sing the red western sunset

Sitting Bull did

cross-legged with two feathers

I want to see

the Big Muddy

before I die

Big Muddy, Big Muddy

badlands not so bad

buddy

roping the stars

bucked off a bronc

an arrow in my heart

I’ll die with my boots on

a short taste

of Miss Spring, brief

bittersweet

not enough

to wet my whistle

or wet the thistle—

you’re not strong

enough, yet

Old Man Winter won’t

go away—

Mr. Freeze,

you bastard

your winds whip

back to attack

our buds

just budding

your blizzard blasts

blacken my resolve

and whiten the

new green promise

your screaming sheets

make me pull

the wool back

over my eyes

I guess I’ll drive home now

with my white car

on a pavement sheen

that’s plasticine

whiskey warmed

no ice

just neat

a long taste

fireplace on

snuggled—

home is where

I want to be tonight

look back, Myrtle

a hot and hot fish club

old Carolina’s on your mind

All Saints could spice it up

whatever was on the line

a bevy of colorful coots

gourmet food lore

epicurean pursuits

strong drinks, fires

festive times for

Parish esquires

gentleman’s association

some revolutionary

others, too civil; prim

tricorn to flat brim

fifty dollars entry

for the proper gentry

in Drunken Jack

Island’s club shack

fishing, hunting, shining

raise a flag for dining

sheephead, bass

hogfish, pan; he won

a stag for venison

we need ham

and good rice, ma’am

for this potluck feast

rum, wine; fruit ripe

Virginia tobacco

in our pipes

fine talk, hearty laughter

the toast, by rules after—

before us

a hot and hot fish club

before you

right, Myrtle?

she gave me

red bongos

for beating hearts day

she stoked my

rhythm fire, the

beatniks just might say

now I’ve grown

a tiki head terrific

with thick quad eyes

and pharaoh whiskers

all beats beatific

slapping rawhide smooth

sound specific

I pound

I thump

I trick a lick

but I don’t wear

my beret

indoors

and I play

when she’s not

indoors

a sink full of dishes

two weeks old

soapy water is

soapy slime

dirty laundry

overflows

on the floor of

wasted time

how often do you

change your sheets?

about once a month,

I chime

she—

she saved me

from my bachelorhood

past

my prime

if we ever live

together

we wouldn’t have that

Thai mask

over our bed

it would scare me,

she said

no dirty

demons

now

she’s

not scared

and we have

our clean love

one point away

from the fishes

bottom of nine

two gone—

the catcher’s sign

my goodbye song

curveball, low

inside the plate

swing and a miss, Joe

same old fate

game over, son

scoreboard’s a wreck

the fun is done

let’s ring your neck

ten grand burned, is up in smoke

many mobster macaroons

pay us now, boy, ain’t no joke

grunt greasy gobsmacked gunsel goons

it was a tight spread

now my bookie

gets no nookie

loan shark money

seems milk and honey

a safe bet running

then bites with cunning

I like ballgames and booze

the easy life’s a snooze

I gamble and I lose

now I sleep with concrete shoes

one point away

from the fishes

bottom of the East

I’m gone—

the Reaper’s feast

my goodbye song

my cobalt skies smell moist

the wet sun is gold lamé

lapis lazuli liquifies

Tiffany’s and Fabergé

diamonds fall in dollop drops

from sunshower opal necklaces

sexy splashing sapphires

manufacture

mercury muddled

quick silver puddled

oily parking lot pools

at my feet

variegated golden rings

branch out

beautifully, infinitely

concentric—

I see myself

standing

barefoot

at the edge of

emerald green grass

in priceless

ruby reflections

I smile

soaked and

bejeweled