In the Picture with Captain

Deciding on the memorial
Or how the chief is to be remembered
Which feathers say
Welcome Captain
Deep think
Gut flexed
Hot temper
What nickname will appear under photo
War paint saying
Not Yosemite, not Piute
Will finish with help from coffee
Respected in solitude not in lodge
Glare in eyes
Very lucky skin of teeth but defeated sometimes
Notification of pride and restlessness
Not throwing the stone at Tenaya
But the hair
Traditional or dated
What should the hair say

Not the way but not not the way
Lost in civilization
Compromise like all good chiefs
Does not mean mall or casino
Not eagle not magpie
A lesser known captain for now
Preferring a classic industrial covering
Like John or One-Eyed Dick
Hero or villain
Is not so important for the photograph
Not to decide alone
These answers come later in an account of time
Hair gone coarse
Still ready to jab and poke
Salt and pepper
Grass maintained by others
Hair by others still
--
9.3.09

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