ghost of the cherokee
 

We used to run

the summer woods

hidden behind

the neighborhood

we climbed the back

of Turtle Rock

to get a glimpse

of the redtailed hawk

Shifting light

you could see

the ghost of the cherokee

We crawled

 

 on bellies

 

through the

 

mountain

 

laurel

 

tossing

 

rocks

 

off the

 

 waterfall

Past that

 

bridge

 

that had

 

broken

 

down

 

where that

 

young girl

 

long ago

 

had drowned
Shifting light . . .
 

We told stories

in the limestone cave

of yellow fever

and the runaway slave

The sun was slanting

in the sky

we knew nothing

ever really die
Shifting light . . .
 

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