i walk a dusty
appalachian
backroad
the heat of the day
just subsiding
i drift with bands
of cool air
sifting sideways
from the forest
to a farm
in the hollow
with a gray faded barn
a red headed kid
feeds the animals
Agamemnon!
she yells
to green-eyed hell
hiding in the rafters
Agamemnon emerges
unwavering
unanswerable
i ask why she gave
such a name
to a barncat
she pauses her chores
a name is just noise put together…
those sounds fit him best
you see?
the sweet haze
of baked earth
tangles up
in sunbeams
Agamemnon.
four sandy syllables
a shortbread remembrance
of Allegheny soil
blessing my lips forever
