THE SCOUT photo: "Near Meteor Crater, AZ" by Tim Goodman
Statue of an Indian Brave, Kansas City, 1936
In bronze you sit,
safe now from the obsessions of decline,
your pony beneath you,
your hand held to your head,
you gaze exhausted
at the city that has risen against the plain,
as if this earth,
in unfaithful partnership,
had pulled a pistol.
After decades of that quick surprise,
there is no longer any need
to worry about oblivion--
what you once were has shattered through an eye
and come to this:
still, obdurate,
the trees at your pony's flank whisking softly...
