…waiting at the sign
at the
boundary
of
the wilderness area
he is trying
to find something that is missing
He goes into the wilderness without it
whatever it was
crossing the gray
broken ground
in fields
among bare oaks
The late autumn
lighting the bits of twig
and dead leaf
thin lines
and spots
of shine
Through like a wind
a strong
runner
outlaw
with new basketball shoes
flies by
out of sight
Pahn goes on
along a fence line
meeting
safe men
from
the old posse
asking if he has
weapons
for protection
Pahn has several rifle boxes
at his
camp
in
the dell
The
camp has the air
of
a man
in
the 1870s
traveling
in the West
with
his young wife
but like a magician
who has made things
disappear
He opens each box
to find it
empty
finally taking out
a blunderbuss
rusted
and
complicated
without
ball
or powder
In moments
the outlaw passes by
The posse
gives chase
and in moments more
the posse comes back
with its dogs
confused
and disoriented
Pahn tells them which way the outlaw went
and notes to himself
one of the
dogs
is chewing on a basketball shoe
but the posse knows
by now
that they will never catch him
Pahn goes back up the hill
where
along the fence
he meets
a group of immigrants
mixed
Swedes and Danes
with a couple of Peruvians
They trap Pahn against the fence
and they surround him
with smiling
mischievous faces
grabbing his arms
putting their hands inside his coat
their
fingers in
his eyes
and ears
until he becomes annoyed
yelling
“What’s wrong
With you people”
at which they move on
still laughing
like elves
…
Pahn has gone out
and been at work
with friends
and
acquaintances
in large rooms
and on paved paths
And coming back
to the wilderness sign
Pahn would go in again
but he is missing
something—
it is a long
and furry
tail
that he won’t go in without
But when he finds it
he turns around
and goes back
instead
to
his community
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