sitting in his fringed leathers

on his horse at the rise of the hill

face painted, holding a lance

there just at the horizon?

That guy's got a Ph.D.

He's the Indian for Mankato State or Carroll College

Indian professors at universities throughout the country

Exhibit A,

No B, no C, just solitary romanticized A

Not much of a threat that way

Real trouble is

America

still doesn't know what to do with Indians

Looked for your books lately in Powell's

or 57th St. Books?

Check first in folklore or anthropology

Found Louis' Wolfsong in black literature

Hell no wonder we all got an identity crisis

You a poet?

No, I just write Indian stuff.

From Trailing You (1994)