Peter Balakian: Albuquerque, New Mexico
from “Pueblo I, New Mexico”
If the parrots followed Geronimo
from Guadaloupe in a dream
could we imagine that frantic air now
where Route 66 Casino rises on
red pylons that hold up the skittering dice
and the breeze of the shuffle
as we drive into the wager and stakes
of High Limits, the wheels of fortune
spinning, the cash-out buttons popping,
simulacra of feathers,
silver, beads, the blur of pots
in the rearview mirror.
