An Ode to Klamath County, Oregon

Klamath in the summertime
has a wonderful clime:
fields of cows and hay,
men at work
children at play

The fountains and bonzais downtown
(surprisingly unmaimed)
seem out of Sausalito,
but I also like rugged Mills
bursting with authentic tacorias
and vibrant American culture

Also, the county library
is full of learned and Bohemian titles
one might not expect to see

The vital green lake is replete with geese
and the mountains with quail
as delicious as any lobster

There are diverse churches
where the faithful hear the word,
excellent coffeehouses
where the more and less affluent
gather for business and pleasure

A hundred places
with memories good and bad...
the track where we kids ran races,
all the insane excitement of youth
that means little
but has a vivid place in my brain

The town is still here:
the space-age Ross Ragland still
hovers over night-time main street

Coyotes still prowl
the surrounding dry forest mountains
and give out fiercely beautiful howls
as the sun sinks into Klamath Lake

The freight trains can still be heard
thud-thud-thudding somewhere,
they still make doors and windows
they still sell beer and wine

Apollo still shines
on "the city of sunshine."