On the Divide

By Jim Provencher

Wandering the Empty Quarter,
crossing the Divide, dropping
down into El Paso:  que pasa?

Further along the Carlsbad Road
where the U-Pull yards
and rusty car tips peter out,
Texas rain ticks off the dune tops
if the wind is right on East Montana.

Where the deposited local missing
usually surface, a fitting spot to locate
new holding pens for the maverick herd.

A furtive quiet—
Mexican desert dove
dart back and forth
across the wire.

From his Mount Cristo del Rey perch,
a monumentally stylized Christ hangs,
impassively surveying the played-out scene.