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Independence Day
The sun was friendly
Picking out the three native
American Indians---
Homeless, unshaven
Sitting on the sidewalk
Outside Zupan’s
Wolfing down fried drumsticks
For lunch
Their faces so filthy
I couldn’t see their eyes
Behind the locks
Of dirty hair
They were indifferent
To the well-fed, well-trimmed
Citizens passing by
Without looking
At them
He who had the longest hair
Raised his head and eyes
To beg from time to time
And when they done eating
They threw the bones
Onto the street
It was said that
When the natives first saw
White people approaching
From the sea
They thought their eyes
Have betrayed them
For they had never seen anything
Called ‘ships’
I know my eyes
Betray me too, sometimes
Like now
Through the floating flags
Fleeting automobiles
And the brass band playing
Star-Spangled Banner
A black crow
From nowhere
Dashed down & picked up
The chicken bones
And the street in front of
The three men was clean again
::july '05
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