purple Iris

Purple irises
Stand on green stalks
On the hillside
By the grey road

I see them as I pass by
At forty-five
Miles per hour
They rub off
Leaving a purple smudge
On the day.

Geneology

I am part of all that came before me

I have been a farmer and a fiddler and trader
I have been a pirate, a soldier, a sailor
I have been a salesman, a preacher, a housewife
I have been a widow, a father, and a son
I have fought the king, the Yankee, the Nazi
I have loved and lost and loved again.

And I am a part
Of the line of men,
Gray as mist, coming forward
Stretched beyond the horizon
Out to the stars
Out to where eternity ends
Back to where life begins

I am part of all who came before me
And they are part of me