by Dee Thompson
…and Sunsets
Are those George’s? Lundeen’s or no—
The bronzed pioneer and Native American
That a past curator deemed vital to the
Entrance of the Great Plains Museum
Were now masked by winter grass
Apparently a priority to the new curators…
So much for the Art hiding behind the
Unkempt, unsculptured grass
And inside on the last day of the
Last Day on the Farm Exhibit
The acrylic and oil of a 10-member
Family of geese on their return flight
To NE in spring—
Would that be a last glimpse of what was?
Where were the geese this year? So few
Against the burnt orange/magenta horizon
This fall when once they were so thick
They blocked out the sinking sun for a bit
Has their ebb and flow been challenged
By changing winds as well?
The horizon has not changed.
Fuschia folds into smoky lavender, then
Mesquite blue—a constant backdrop for
Mothers calling children in from the fields
Now text-messaging them to come home
From weary wandering and the
Long, low whistle of a train signals from
Agricultural to Industrial to an
Upside-down Post-Modern deep purple
Blanketed by a burnt orange horizon…
What’s up is down
A DNA spiral spinning new breeds
Of winter grass, geese, children…
and sunsets
Dee Thompson
1.26.08
