Herland Sister Resources

Isabella’s emissary rides through the waving
prairie grasses of the heartland, his blue Castilian
eyes scanning the horizon for seven golden cities.

He rides the endless plains breathing the dust
of buffalo, dreaming of wealth, of glory,
returning triumphantly to his monarch.

He rides and rides while saddle sores
pock his Spanish butt, and cruelty
fuels his aristocratic ambitions.

Wherever he goes citizen bands trail
the conquistador column, silent as breath,
waiting and planning for the right moment,
the split second, when flint tipped shafts
might spill Old World blood in New World dust.

But, when it comes, the “let’s roll” rush fails,
the foreign intruders continue the relentless march
until every citizen is slain or subdued,
and all the monuments are erected
to honor the triumph of terrorists.

Dorothy Alexander