east of the divide

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the rotunda’s split          almost in two
along a jagged  line       of coffers in the dome
wider at the top     than at the bottom
for a ringside view of the second coming
ohio missouri mississippi all run brown
from cityscape to delta farm
tying blue ribbons around a nation
from appalachia to the rockies
it’s a fire in the bellies          of mountains
a bulging mantle         of iron will
that rips           a continent apart
the need of one full plate to subdue another
a dozen or a thousand years
after a caldera cracks              the atmosphere clears
the land cools down in new configurations     and living things
may yet return                           the meek              the resilient

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