January 2022
Tom Montag
theoldmonk85@gmail.com
Author's Note: Thanks to the generosity of Suzanne and Karl Kelm, in October 2018 I was able to spend a week writing poems along the Keya Paha River in north-central Nebraska, on their ranch called Wishin' Jupiter. "Wishin' Jupiter," as I remember, was the name their daughter gave to her first bicycle, and when the Kelms bought their ranch, it sounded just right for their piece of land. Certainly the place is a terrific one for writing poems; these are some of mine which were inspired there.

Three Poems from
The River Will Tell You 

Who walks these hills
knows wind and sand,

knows the grasses,
the sound of cottonwoods

in the distance,
the small birds singing,

the chirp of crickets,
what God meant, saying

Let there be light!

~

The world doesn't stay
where you want to
put it. The smell of

autumn prairie
follows you into
the house, the smell

of the river.
The smell of the house
follows you out.

~

The sky does not tell us
what is beyond this shell

of stars; we can only imagine.
Some think there’s a heaven

and some think it’s emptiness.
I tend to go with those who say

what you see is what you get – 
particle or wave – depending.

~
©2022 Tom Montag
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