22 January 2007 | Vol. 6, No. 4

Charred Face of the Gone

by CLAY MATTHEWS

This the progression of prairie fire follows

the plot structure set to motion by an organism

long ago—first earth, then wind, and fire

followed by the resolution of rain we still

wait for as the dust picks up and carries

the lasting soot of a double-wide

on its rolling face. When the water stops

coming the buckets stop meaning anything

other than one component of a system

of archaeological t