The Last Harvest
She was taught that river systems
tree branches & veins are all mathematically
equivalent That a skein of geese
is directed by the electromagnetic pull
of iron within the earth’s core
That the brilliant wash of a sunset &
the enlargement of the harvest moon are due
simply to condensed particulates
in the atmosphere She was taught this
& believed it but wanted to learn further
why the geese shining in flight like a string
of pearls know the line of Old Hansen’s
ranch the harvest moon lies swollen
against the starless sky & the dying
sun flares longest before the frozen night
Why the cottonwood’s branches reach
highest above hidden stones
the Colorado’s tributaries course dry
through her father’s fields & the blue-red blood
in her mother’s veins does not move at all
