Vintage Colorado Poetry Poem of the Week January 26, 2004

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From time to time, Vintage Colorado Poetry will feature the work of contemporary poets. Tony Moffeit, of Pueblo, is the first such poet. His honors include the Jack Kerouac Award (1986) and the Thomas Hornsby Ferril Poetry Prize (1997), the latter awarded by the Denver Press Club. His most recent book is Billy the Kid and Frida Kahlo (2000). Headed west on Highway 160 across La Veta Pass you descend into the San Luis Valley.

ears popping over la veta pass                              you were snoring                              in the backseat                              marguerita when i                              raced the nighthawk                              for those high                              stakes the radio                              blaring the blues                              ears popping over                              la veta pass and i                              drove deeper into                              the dark nerves                              worn on neanderthal                              cliffs body torn                              on dead man curves                              and you drifted                              awake and asked if i                              was okay and i pulled                              out a stick of gum                              said yeah i think i                              got my second wind                                  --Tony Moffeit "ears popping over la veta pass" by Tony Moffeit. First published in Wide Open. Copyright 1990 by Tony Moffeit. Reprinted with the author's permission in Where Past Meets Present: Modern Colorado Short Stories, University Press of Colorado, 1994. Featured on Vintage Colorado Poetry, 2004, with the author's permission.