Friday, November 14, 2008
The Unauthorized Biography of Lester Fallsapart
The Unauthorized Biography of Lester Fallsapart
1.
Born on Christmas Day
& named __________
unpronounceable
in English & Indian
but it means HE WHO HUNTS
WITH A CROOKED BOW
& ONE BAD ARROW
LOOKING FOR ENOUGH DEER
WILL FEED THE ENTIRE TRIBE.
We just call him Lester.
2.
1979
in the dumpster reservation
behind the Trading Post.
Lester, is that you
shoved into a bottle
of Thunderbird Wine
piece by piece
like those hobby shops
we call minor miracles?
It takes years
to destroy yourself this way
without a reason to live
& not enough money
to buy a quick death.
3.
Stray dogs
sleep next to Lester
close
to whatever warmth
he has left.
I remember one mongrel
followed Lester all
over the reservation
as he collected
cans on roadsides.
The dog chased cars
half-crazed & half-exact.
That mutt is my cousin
Lester told us.
When the dog died
torn under a logging truck
Lester wept & refused to leave
his body in the ditch.
4.
The smallest pain
can change the world.
5.
1966
& the post office refused
to deliver Lester's mail
because he lived in a tipi
his life collected
in the dead letter box:
draft notice
postcards from Columbus
form letter
addressed incorrectly
to LESTER FELL APART.
Years later
as Lester pawned
his Purple Heart
he gave me that letter
& said
Somebody knew about my future
and tried to warn me.
Tell me, Lester
have you learned the best weapons
don't leave physical evidence?
In your mind
Viet Nam & the reservation
fancydance together.
6.
Unemployment checks
weigh more
than your own body
laid across the spine.
Lester, have you tried
to find work this week?
Nothing left
on the reservation
but buckets of dirty water
at the uranium mine
& Lester refuses
to carry that burden.
There are things I won't do
no matter how hungry I get
Lester tells me
as we travel into the trees
to cut a few cords
of firewood
for a flame
Lester will never feel.
Old women
pay Lester a few dollars
to carry groceries
from the Trading Post.
Old men
give Lester a shot
from their whiskey bottles
in a tribal gesture.
On warm nights
Lester sleeps
under a picnic table
in the BIA compound.
Sleeping outdoors
gives me strange dreams
Lester tells me
as we stop
next to the largest pine tree
on the reservation.
Then Lester jumps
from the truck
raises my axe
above his head
looking to make
the final cut.
7.
Still, Lester sings
a good song & drums
like he could begin
this game again
roll the dice
pass GO
& collect his $200.
Day by day
he survives
this way.
Sherman Alexie........from Old Shirts & New Skins
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1 comment:
I know Lester in a different skin. They poured gasoline on dumpster pizza, just waiting for his hunger to bite in, wide open.
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