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In life you often began your talks with
boasting
So in majestic tradition, I’ll beat my chest for you
telling a bit of the journeys of who was once your "Dudie"
that you might know me better, now a man
I have been, dear old man, to the end of
my days
and back again
I’ve wandered the farthest whens of time and passed
where I listened the distant thunder of Tao
There I lingered many whiles
had tea with Avicenna, Octavian Augustus, and Pascal
Looked at Muhammad’s beautiful new house
saw Gautama’s Nirvana home
I’ve met Shimoda, Sartre and Lao Tsu
Of many talks I could tell
but tonight just a letter will I send
by means of this poem, these lines to you my friend
On the forever Dakota plain
you chose to make your stand
You shouted endlessly at the ways of the wind
never really understood by those you called friends
Yet wearing your Colt for all to see,
you stood your ground, knee deep in buffalo grass
kept your Goddamned Ranger code- honored it to the last
I once returned to the country you loved
so much
Stark beauty-- etched in bold, grand strokes
along with gentle caresses of the artists hand
I’ve tasted the fallow soil, nibbled alfalfa stems
the years have taught me your love of the land
You never faced many of your fears
through these twisting outward you lost your mate
Then, crying the years away
you stumbled between rage and misplaced sentiment
never to stand quite as tall again
Now here am I with love many times my worth
From watching your mistakes
I’ve learned how to preserve
what slipped through your hands
Pressured air, John Deere tractor,
junkyard genesis
Snap-On wrench, cutting torch, TIG, and MIG
With a profound mind and sheer skill of hand
you saw beauty in function
forged most singular machines
In these you showed your brilliance
In these you found your wings
Often I thought you were bragging
but you know I think you were right old man
I have never seen your match
To the child I was
you did much you ought not have done
But I remembered and waited
choosing carefully my place in the desert sun
And when came the day
we both know who in battle won
Over the years, I have learned to forgive
and in hope perhaps you have forgiven too
I want you to know after all is said and done
when next we meet, I’ll be proud to stand beside you
fighting the fights and flying the flights
beyond the Summerlands
10/13/97
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