buffalo spirits

dance overhead
    in the hazy sky
weeping upon the plains
    where once they reigned
where the prairie winds blow
    howling dust devils
grow fierce
    dust swirls in spirals
 dust storms form
    and golden waves flow
over great plains

buffalo grass dances
    from purple mountain sides
tumble weeds
    now tumbling
over tilled fields
    where once
only buffalo grass grew

wild mustangs
    and buffalo used to graze
spirits of grace
    gliding into ancient mists
still are running free
    in faded glory

buffalo spirits
    magnificent beasts of long ago
reigned the dust blown vistas
    that can't be held onto
sand slipping
    between your fingers
seeping into your skin
    no way to slow it down
just look ahead
    to see where it goes
never knowing why
    it fiercely disappears
 into the air
   like the buffalo

a dark shadow
    moves across the land
where once they roamed
    slaughtered in the millions
now only the few remain
    their spirits still graze
over plains of buffalo grass
    lonely is the unknown
where civilization
    reared its ugly head
the journey without end
    the only constant
buffalo spirits

4-05-2009
D.E. Clark