Pollarded Cottonwood

Which facts matter to you? Which
Daydreams are you rooting for?
Ronald Reagan, grinning, framed,

Beams from his own quotation
About never giving up
Your guns. He guards the motel

Counter in Caliente,
Nevada, its mines long closed,
Where the palatial, stuccoed

Passenger depot sheds flakes
Each time Union Pacific
Freight hoots by. The Hot Springs Inn

Shut down because of Covid,
But Patty’s Motel’s open.
Monica will check you in.

The rooms are tiny but clean,
And here’s the WiFi password.
Steep sunset lights the sharp hills.

The pollarded cottonwood
Glows in November glory,
Spartan and all but leafless.