how the west was lost
   a minimalist morality play
   a populist party
   in shuffle time
   with water for the barrens and the barons
   and taxes for the rest
   while the Colorado
   has lost its way
   and lumbering companies
   slumbering giants subsume
   for just a few more pages
   in the NY Times
   or a bench for the backyard BBQ
   I hear America singing
   they are praising the IPO
   damning the HMO
   drinking and going home

   - Ken Peters