A Remembrance

Rising from hard packed soil
The shell of the old Dodge
Sprouted as a rust blossom
Of truck weed.

Years of sun
Wind-whipped sands
And ten scores of ages
Of snows and ice
Reduced its paint
To that little retained
In creases and contours...
A dull cornflower blue.

Sharp edges of its shattered glass
Caught and reflected the dazzle
Of a climbing sun.

The old work horse was abandoned
Sightless
Dismal.

Tall grasses sprouted from
Its engine compartment
And missing floorboards
As green exclamation points
Of lost history.

Ghost emblems
Arched the doors:
Rowling Camp & Sons.
Whoever they were
And whatever they did
Was lost to record.

Leaning against a fender
I breathed grease and oil
Even the scent of age
Hung in the air
Penetrating the fragrances
Of the prairie
Upon which the Dodge slumbered.

Everything
Sinks into soil
Leaving a hole in the air
A remembrance
Of what had been.