Plain and Simple
… he liked the country undecorated, hard, and stripped of its finery.
—Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
he liked it
hard as ironwood
no medals pinned to its chest
no stars and stripes
or fancy ribbons to
hide its true nature
an eagle stripped of
arrows and olive branches
soars high above
the shifting winds
of freedom
to see more clearly
all the peaks and valleys
of we the people
*
Gene Twaronite is the author of six poetry collections. His first poetry book, Trash Picker on Mars, was the winner of the 2017 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. His latest collection is Watch Us Burn: Poems for a Lost Earth (Kelsay Books). Follow more of Gene’s writing at: genetwaronitepoet.com & instagram.com/genetwaronite
