1995

I drank the boat dry

My birthday
1995

Played
Little Red Corvette

I love this song
She said

It’s a great one

She smiled

I laughed and
Put the guitar down

Drank the boat dry
As I said

Stumbled home and
Fell into bed

Somewhat satisfied

100 yards

I wonder
If I can get a sand wedge
Back there?

I think you can,
Brown Deer says.

Nice shot,
Billy says.

I pick my cigarette
Off the grass
Take a hit and grin.

Time

Last night
Rain

Fell
Softly

While I
Wondered

Where you went

Gallup

wind
howling like a coyote

prowling across a forlorn
landscape

my truck
won’t
start

you ain't home

Undivided Attention

While the crew rests - you sit on a rock - watch the fire - grow - you wonder - how you and your pals will put it out - at least get her under control - fires are unpredictable - that doesn't mean there's no pattern - tragic things happen - all over the world - right now - somewhere else - yesterday - tomorrow - next year - a hundred years ago - that's a lot to consider - the glow from houses in the valley blends with the night sky light - it's so dark - you can't see twenty yards forward or back but you see the fire - smell it - feel it - the glow from the valley reminds you why you are here tonight - Harvey wakes up - walks to the drop zone - gets a sweater out of his backpack - takes a piss - asks - what you see out there boss - a fire that's too active for this time of night - you say - I noticed that too - Harvey says - walks back to his sleeping bag - gets in - your ex wife hates that you love to jump out of airplanes and fight fires in the Rocky Mountains - she moved to Chicago - you were in New Mexico - you miss her sometimes - not now - the fire has your undivided attention - if you knew that you would be dead tomorrow - would you pull your crew off the mountain - watch the Rockies in a bar - or would you push on - side-stepping premonition?

After The Bar Closed We Sat At A Table Drinking Rum And Coke

I long
For a precise image
Of you
To exploit

A prelude to a night cap
My best friend
Used to say
Before she went to Florida

The First Hole

I have a picture hanging over my Davenport of Greg Norman making a double bogey on the first hole at Royal St. George's en route to his second Open victory in 1993.

The British Open is the best golf tournament in the world.

It's a hell of an image and evidence that you can make a mess of the beginning of an important endeavor and still accomplish something remarkable if you stick to your plan and attack life with the moxie of a champion.