Endangered Species
herds of buffalo
gone now
you search the undulating
sea of grass
near campo and wildhorse
for the great hairy horned whales
but none surface
instead
if you look carefully
you see the shallow swimming
hahe issi
the pronghorn
antelope
you identify with
this striped sailfish
skimming the surface
a harpoon’s throw away
from hungry nesters
diving
for the cereal great plains
plankton seed
visible
but fast
Phillip Carroll Morgan, “Endangered Species” from The Fork-in-the-Road Indian Poetry Store. Copyright © 2006 by Phillip Carroll Morgan. Reprinted by permission of Salt Publishing.
Source:
The Fork-in-the-Road Indian Poetry Store
(Salt Publishing, 2006)
