el baile
Patricia Bassel
On the llano where
a few cowboys hold out caressing
the reins with their calloused
hands. Their leather skin brown like the
dirt and dust where they ride horseback
making a living working animals.
They call this back country where
coyotes reach the high notes.
Follow me. Chew on salvia leaves.
I will speak to the wind and stars
filling my pouch with ancient remedies
that soothe melancholy.
Full moon lights the path
through mesquite brush and
dry juniper. Music of cricket sounds.
On this land where the old ways
burn bright in us like fire
we will talk story and dance.
Patricia Bassel is a teacher, traveler and poet from Southwest Oklahoma. Walking is a ritual for her around the world. And the world is her home but as a native of Oklahoma, she finds an austere beauty in the Great Plains, open spaces and the ancient boulders of the Wichita Mountains.