Coastal Plains Poem by Juan Olivarez

Coastal plains stretch forever
Blue skies cotton candy clouds.
Red top sorghum and corn fields
Tin water towers dot the land.

Telephone poles far as the eyes can see
Heat waves rise from the blackk top.
Buffelgrass swaying in the wind
Brown seed stalks drying in the sun.

Miles upon miles of scrub brush
Huisache, mesquite, stunted live oak.
White lines race endlessly past
On their way south.

Dark clouds in the east
Pour out their hearts.
Every now and again a trooper
Passes by in his black and white.

Freight trains stretching into infinity
Yellow road signs with bounding dear.
Turkey vultures circle high
Over the Texas Coastal Plains.

6/5/14
SOMEWHERE IN
EAST TEXAS