the vernier is shot

winds of these prayers paint the flatland of my fathers
my words chill me; no one comforts me
Keye Luke is back on Mars, & the lunar was explored last year
there are no angels in the snow of my front yard
only a photographic image of last year's wings

my hands are finally pale this season
the noise has become interference
it has lost its purity
there is no wisdom in the static
no messages from the yellow man on the red planet

the plains spread away from this door forever
no moon, no stars

When the vernier is shot on an old radio it means the ability to tune the signal has been lost. This poem lists all the conceits from the 70s: Keye Luke, the lunar explored, the snow angel. Photography is represented. The idea of wisdom hidden in the static is an old one. I first used it in the novel It Seems So Long Ago. There was a character in this post nuclear holocaust america who claimed to see the future in the snow on his television. There was no signal to pickup, just the white noise. That character was meant to represent John the Baptist in a novel built on the fifteen mysteries of the rosary. In this piece it represents the abandonment of the author by his muse/partner, Keye Luke. This was written long before Luke's demise, of course. So, this piece is primarily about my relationship with Scarritt, the group, and the idea. People left. People gave up. There is usually a retreat in every campaign.