LUBBOCK ELEGY (for Billy Boy)

Texas is a great hot

hollow balloon here

in Lubbock, a swollen

membrane; lethargic & frustrated

with bluegrass underfoot;

breezy and indifferent

storms pass, they soak

& they electrify

the red clay earth;

bobbing here at the end

of its tether, about

to feel that crack

of thunder; about to feel

one pair of feet fall

on its back, forever

and be gone, say, day

after day, after tomorrow;

and shudder in its own

slow rumble of thunder;

and be gone

forever

           8/11/1993

           Lubbock, Texas

  Lubbock Elegy by Lee Foust