Safe at Home in the Middle of Nowhere

Copyright 1999 Elizabeth T. Anderson

Hard Wood

Love is a room that we rent
in other people's houses.

Last summer, I sublet
someone else's husband.

Homeless again, I miss
the cold floor under my feet.

I miss the stained curtains
that blocked breezes from drafty windows.

I even miss that musty smell
rising up from the basement.

I do not miss paying the rent,
or mowing my small patch of lawn.

I suppose before winter comes,
I should look for new lodgings.

On to Section Two: Jazz in the City

Still Nights Like These

Still nights like these we sit by the river and
drink. Sometimes, we can even remember the
stars. This night, we can only see our-
selves, and the rest of the world can miss us.

I'm cradling whiskey, Windsor Canadian,
and I'm gone. Jed and Lucy have come from the
Res. They are dancing full on thicket.
I've, on occasion, been drunker, I think.

Dave Bearsheart has his hand on the radio.
Dave's beer is balanced, high, on the hood of his
truck. Shadow scuffles in the dirt for
nightcrawlers. Dogs have a feel for earthworms.

We people know the landscape of Plains country.
We know that undreamed dreams can't be taken a-
way. That is how we keep from drowning.
And that is what we have in common.
That's how we find ourselves, under starlight.

North Dakota

Contrary to popular belief,
there is a peculiar beauty here
in this world where colors
don't come in shades (black
highway, green grass, lemon
yellow sun.) There is life here.

There is life and there is death
and there is alcohol for us
lined up on these barstools.

Andy over there can tell you
his story of hitch-hiking to Cali,
then flying home for good, 
for his dad's funeral, six years ago.

Sue Roberts has her story
of love and heartache, sadder
than The Bridges of Madison County,
she'll tell you before she starts to cry
over her neighbor's husband.

I guess this is home -
these longings, these disappointments,
these visions of a better day-

someday -

When grain prices are up,
and gas prices are down,
when marriage really works,
when you can once again
get a beer for under a buck,
and home in only a place
to come back to.