No Dice

for susan miller, 1971

I went all over superior, nebraska
looking for your fine, little ass.
no dice.

you ever taken a bowl
and shaken the hell out of it
for no reason at all? Ah, tureen!

ten times the phone rang in succession
and each time it got bigger and bigger
until I had to buy a larger house.

the sun just came out from behind a cloud
and went behind a tree.
A burning bird skedaddled.

I looked at the nickel,
I stared hard, really concentrated,
until I could see five, fuzzy Lincolns.