Two Poems By Scott Wiggerman

Piedras Marcadas

In nearby canyons, rocks tell bygone tales.
Of course, all rocks have stories—some a bit
louder than others. This wide rockface pulls
you in with coyotes, a lone rabbit,
an arrow squiggly as a twisted snake.
That petroglyph—with roadrunners and men
beneath an open-mouthed sunburst and hawk—
speaks another tale. While wind and rain
have scoured voices, etched away accounts
like memories, the narratives can still
be found and learned, deciphered: ancient glints
with new interpretations. Hear the call?
A kokopelli with a flute plays on.
You choose the notes, the hook, the myths within.

Job Arrives in Texas

	starting with a Dickinson line (#956)

What shall I do when the summer troubles,
when life gets number and number? Troubles!

A hundred outside, ninety in the house.
Air is dead, more than a bummer: troubles.

I’m bored, I’m bored. I sleep the day away.
Comatose, could I have dumber troubles?

Though full-on, the kitchen faucet trickles.
Now the toilet won’t flush—plumber troubles.

On my street, frat boys park like random dice.
A curse: they all deserve Hummer troubles.

A keg is tapped. The boys are loud as sin.
Stoned percussionists with drummer troubles.

I sweat, I swear, watch the streetlights go black.
Alone and old with newcomer troubles.

Texas Institute of Letters member Scott Wiggerman is an author with three books of poetry, Leaf and Beak: Sonnets, Presence, and Vegetables and Other Relationships; and the editor of several volumes, including two volumes of Wingbeats: Exercises & Practice in Poetry (Dos Gatos Press) and 22 Poems and a Prayer for El Paso, winner of a NM/AZ Book Award. Based in Albuquerque, he often teaches classes in form, including haiku, the sonnet, and the ghazal.