a single grain scatters on the dust.
rice husks swirl in a desert tailwind.
the trucks run like spacecraft,
sun rolling down the highway,
like gliding on a sheet of ice.

stars are forged in the earth,
rising from fecund plantation soil.
blood burbles beneath
the cotton, the corn, and the grains.
the livestock are enriched.
the land shapes its destiny, Tejano or Anglo.
wooden walls splinter with a crack of muskets.
a state resists, then demands incorporation.
the bones of the earth fracture,
faces masked in sweetness and sweat.
slavery and its brittle scent.
a face glistens with smears of liquid gold.

all are equal at the altar of the road.
the rumbling of tires is a native tongue.
the first Chinese in Texas worked railroads and shared crops.
one gets a footnote in the state history museum.
a stand in for the Vietnamese and Koreans.
the first to fight the courts and win.

a step into dry air is a step into the dark.
a car jerks away from a desperate wiper.
a gulf is both intellectual and physical.
a gun seeks refuge in a mall.
a praise song echoes in a sprawling cavern.
happiness endures somewhere for someone.