Jefferson County,1957 Poem by Bob Bowers

Under cover of night
Like Special Forces Rangers
Long before their berets were king,
We crept across Schermer’s cornfield,
Dropping down into the folds of earth
Whenever a shadow peeked or poked
Upon the ground,
Spectres wavering against
The lighted sky, with its bright whites,
Its lavenders and greens segueing into reds,
The northern lights held captive,
Kidnapped from their sleeping dreams,
Throwing themselves against
The bonds of night.

With the stealth of jungle fighters
Long before Vietnam turned our game to death
We slithered and ran and dodged,
Until at final last we reached the fence
Which penned them in,
Slipped through its barbed wire,
And rose like gods
Emerging from the depths of Hades,
To walk the midway, ride the rides,
Throw darts at balloons,
Shoot at plastic ducks,
At the county fair.


6/4/05