Thread: Good to meet you! from Austin

Hello! I am an artist in Austin and I have been a fan of this website for a few weeks now...I decided to join the forum to see what everyone was talking about all things Texas. To introduce myself, I have included a poem I wrote and feature on my website. I call it "Texas".

TEXAS

It’s the locusts humming in the trees
sea-sawing their summer tune
the heat drifting down from their song:
a sweltering blanket across the land.

It’s the dirt path (off the dirt path)
off the well-worn path in the park
off the interstate
outside of the city.

It’s the Cottonwoods drinking
from long straws
nurturing their hand-sized leaves
from a nearby creek.

It’s a rabbit hiding in the brush
next to cacti (hiding from nothing)
looking to the sky
for the hawk looms above.

It’s the Grackle
common around these parts
stooping its way
through the trees.

It’s the Rattlesnake
almost gone from this place
sliding across a western town
(you belonged to us)

It’s the chiggers
nobody knows what they are
just an unseen hanger-on
getting under your skin.

It’s the slow miles between cities
that the motorcycle finds
or the car with the lone driver
traveling for no reason.

It’s the isolated beaches
where peace has a kingdom
if you drive far enough south
and have the courage to find.

It’s the Hill Country
with limestone cliffs
where, if you’re lucky,
an arrowhead can still be found.

It’s the evening breeze
during the blazing summer months
and the relief it doesn’t bring
that still manages to bring relief.

It’s the thunderhead
that hides the sun
while people drive desperately home
before the rain claims them.

It’s the neighborhood
with far apart homes
and grassy playing fields
that we grew up in.

It’s the train tracks
and the trees waving goodbye
as the coal car cries
going far beyond.

And it’s the childhood
one leaves behind
as a new place is found…
and an old life dies.

KrowLin 2008