Duckwater Poetry by Jerry Herrmann

Poetry by Jerry Herrmann, Substitute Teacher

Duckwater Is:
Kena talking to the moon.
Cindy’s Aunt in a cage.
Driving to sprouse in the old car.
It’s a beautiful country, Cindy says.
Rodney driving his red sports car between two worlds.

Duckwater Is:
Darrell checking his traps.
Mercury and Venus in the evening sky.
And Bert’s car is a mercury too.
(One of the nine plants, you know is not a star).

Duckwater Is:
Trips to Ely, to Pappa’s
With coke or diet cokes & fries.
Hamburgers anyone?

Duckwater Is:
A place of secrets
Too marvelous to be kept.
(Especially from ourselves)

Duckwater Is:
Most of all is a place for children.
Children who understand (this poem)
Who see better sometimes
than we can.
Children with an easy laughter.
Children who have grandmas, aunts, mothers,
fathers, carnival ride operators, teachers,
singers, astronomers, caring, feeling.  But
be careful, don’t let them know you’re
watching.
For they kind of turn to stone then. 
They don’t need a microscope peering over them.

Big City Diboo:
I come from New York
where they walk all over you.
I laughed at kids who talk
to the moon.

Now I do it myself.
The moon kind of sits
right on the rez.

You can’t avoid getter
to know it.

Cars zip back and forth
from Sprouse, pappa’s with french
fries, cokes and diet cokes, and
Duckwater.

No ‘K’ Marts here.
The only Big Macs are on four feet.
Kind of hard on a
Big City Diboo!

But, you know?  I think
I could get to like
this big, clean, wind swept
place.

Basketball at nite in the gym.
A visit from parents and
I’d be just fine.