Poems by Scott Starbuck
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Coyote's Prediction
by Scott Starbuck
From Canary Fall 2012
Scott travels between the north Oregon Coast, Columbia River Gorge, and his teaching job overlooking The Rose Creek Watershed in California.
There is a ghost
like water healing
the river's paddle wounds,
old logging mill
lanced by seeds
of forgotten giants,
salmon cannery
weathered like ribs
of a fish skeleton.
Only things
that belong here
will last.
Previously published in Mr. Cogito and The Eyes of Those Who Broke Free (poetry chapbook) by Pudding House.
© Scott Starbuck
Lost in the Woods on Cascade Head
by Scott Starbuck
I pause in creek bottom
of an alder thicket
to drink in cool water
and reflect on classic way
I got into this mess
merely by following deer
as dark approached.
Last night it was 28 degrees
and I am wet,
soaked clear through.
Glasses lost to a branch
and down to one boot,
I laugh and think
that I, the outdoorsman,
may die tonight
and how, whether I do or not,
blurred stars
look like Christmas lights
in giant Sitkas.
This poem appeared in Riven Poetry Journal and Hipfish under the title “Lost in the Woods.”
© Scott Starbuck
Punch Bowl Hike Meditation
by Scott Starbuck
From Canary Spring 2017
For 30 years
I’ve talked to myself
about climate change
but now most everyone is.
When you think that long
you feel for
Nina in flower garden,
sparrow on fence.
An earlier draft of this poem appeared in San Diego Reader
© Scott Starbuck
Warrior Describes Men Wandering Around Alaska
Looking for a TV Set
by Scott Starbuck
"What you got here?"
the newcomers demand,
tired and angry,
unplanned landing.
The Old One smiles again.
He says ----
we got plenty of fish
and plenty of friends.
He says ---- Look
by the river.
We have the raven.
The spruce. The moon.
Sea is quiet.
Stay if you wish
and tell us
what you got.
Previously published in The Lucid Stone and The Warrior Poems (poetry chapbook) by Pudding House.
© Scott Starbuck