A Few Cattle Driven to High Country in May

Watching over the herds lingers
As part of the mythology
Of the American southwest,

And it’s doubly weird, honestly,
Since hardly anyone’s involved
In ranching as a way of life,

And since it’s fairly recent here—
Humans on horseback driving herds
Were part of the Eurasian steppes

Thousands of years before cowboys
Were filmed as mesa silhouettes.
But that’s just it, isn’t it—film

Allowed a new kind of story,
New storytelling industry
With access to desert landscapes

And pulp fiction ready to hand
Already set in such landscapes,
And it took full advantage of this,

Less mythology than cheat grass.
Now, watching over herds lingers,
Along with all the other ways,

The more significant, complex
Ways of converting resources
Into delivery systems.

Storytelling itself moves on,
Discovering new breeds and strains,
Watching over narrative herds.