my beautiful daughter Katie
energetic and in her twenties with a little
better than shoulder length blond
hair that bounces when
she runs to
help
hands me
the wire cutters

and pliers shows me how I
should ride while in a gallop as
I'm trying to repair a downed fence
line (I already knew how to ride
you know though I had to

let her teach me)
she's spent
much of
her
growing
years loving and

raising animals working as
an assistant veterinarian tech
etcetera on various planes

~ ~ ~

toying with my working
ways a warm
after
day
shower
burst from
partially clouded
skies leaving the ground covered
with this dark mystique of slow oozing slime we
found out early on to stay well away from that stuff it
was strange discovering how the rock hard earth could
turn to quicksand in a matter of minutes unfortunately
the first year we had to learn the hard way even
something as big as a car could be
sucked right in

I

pulled the
hood
of
my
dirty sweat
over my head grabbed
the tools I had and made a dash for
the barn shelter not more than three minutes had
passed when the sun returned with its blinding glare of dare me

~ ~ ~

the phone call wasn't so much a surprise tells me in a couple
of weeks or so she's going be get married to her
boyfriend (I've heard this all before) of
two years that lives in her
apartment in Coeur d' Alene
and would I please come and give her

away somehow I knew my lessons would not likely
be ending here you understand the "I'm her person" thing
she never could share very well so evidently the good Lord
thought my days should (regrettably sometimes) forever
be blessed to have all of her attentions lucky me
however not so tasteful for her jealous
sisters that wanted my
attention
too

~ ~ ~

against my obvious inexperience
in such matters the married idea wasn't
sounding so bad other than I'd have to get
my reclusive butt suited up and into town
you know it only seemed like
yesterday

when
she was crying
on my shoulder while petting
one of our barn cats telling me how she
wouldn't ever be able find a "real" boyfriend
around here (the middle of nowhere as she
put it) to love her sighing how she
loathed the idea of
moving
to
town
to find someone
and then of course there was
the risk that they wouldn't like animals
(the guy had to love animals) etc. or her
beloved country I never had a child
that was so eager to leave
the city and the
friends

she had
and trade it all
for a country way of
living of course I never had
a girl that could think of little
else but raising pets

~ ~ ~

the wet field floor rumbled with the musical
rhythms of new born lambs hoofbeats and freedom
it had only been eight some years from the day we
escaped the halls of the concrete jungle and
as far as I could tell it would only be
a matter of time before our
precious country
side

would
be cemented
over many of the roads
had already been paved and
are being paved as we speak
taxes for bridge & road
have been
on
the rise
ever since the
time we had arrived

~ ~ ~

I recall the day we finally sold the two
properties and left for Idaho we stopped at a
fly through coffee stop where I looked out the
motor home mirror scanning the climb from
Vantage as we conquered the bank of
independence on the eastern
rise of the Columbia
River Basin

you
know
that's got to
be one of the longest
climbs I've ever seen I remember
as a kid driving through and breaking down
on that very hill I had to coast back wards on the
shoulder of the interstate for more than ten miles
all the way back into Vantage that was then and
is even today not much more than a ghost
town I prayed a little prayer of thanks
as we crested the ridge to the
open prairie horizon
unfortunately
we
would
have to return to
pick up Joseph and Caressa
that had to be left behind in a care
facility but we did it and we were free
on our way back to the roots from
where we had begun

~ ~ ~

just look at me now eight plus years later and
here I am and my daughter is getting
married oh my my beautiful
blond with dyed
black
hair
&
I
can't
believe it
rouged from here
to there could a father ask
for more I catch a couple poses
out front of the chapel my baby
doll carrying her train as
natural as can

be

you could've thought she
had practiced this part for years
the way she held herself and what
a sight it was I could hardly believe
I almost felt like crying kids just
seem to be growin' up to
darn fast these
days

a group of high schoolers chorused
a practiced refrain from across the street
waiting for a ride to bad they didn't have a
camcorder I would have boughten the
video from them they all had on
matching outfits looked
like they were
cheer

l
e
a
d
e
r
s

or
something
headed for the big game
all Katie could see was stars and of course

Dustin

I'll
be lucky if
they're just interested
in raising pets
.