Kourt, Pat

Lackey, R. Samuel

Nelms, Sheryl L.

English

SWOSU Digital Commons (Southwestern Oklahoma State University)

Volume 3Issue 1 Fall Article 1810-15-1983Okie Pride / Wing Shot / a sense of pridePat KourtR. Samuel LackeySheryl L. NelmsFollow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/westviewThis Poetry is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals atSWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Westviewby an authorized administrator of SWOSU Digital Commons. For moreinformation, please contact phillip.fitzsimmons@swosu.edu.Recommended CitationKourt, Pat; Lackey, R. Samuel; and Nelms, Sheryl L. (1983) "Okie Pride / Wing Shot / a sense of pride," Westview: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1 ,Article 18.Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/westview/vol3/iss1/18OKIE PRIDE —  by Pat KourtOkie pride is a collage of faces, places, and dreams.Pride shows in the dust-worn smiles of the migrants returning home —in the retired farmer receiving his first oil-lease bonus —in the nervous nine-year-old 4-H’er modeling her hand-stitched apron —in the family burying its Great Grandma Kate, who made the Run.Pride reveals itself in the manicured rows of frosty, gray-brown cotton stalks —in the school rooms flying the prairie-sky blue state flag —in the country pulpits echoing a booming Midwestern drawl —in the dusty, rugged arena of man vs. beast known as rodeo.Pride envisions progress in understanding the venerable Cheyenne-Arapaho culture —in providing an answer for the troubled, searching unemployed —in maintaining a “Bible-Belt” morality for tomorrow’s grandchildren —in keeping the red-earth environment as natural as God first created it.Okie pride — assorted faces, places, and dreams —a work of Western art.WING SHOT —  by Dr. R. Samuel LackeyB eneath the polished shell of Flamingo M otherhood,The neck of the egg is broken out of time By an arrow and a brightly painted stick  That will slide like bubbles in the blood untilIn flight the dark horizon flash es full of beaks and early fishes. The sea  sp ins tightly around his pain.His ey e s  seek  out the earth again.The w aters churn —No stars within, but only He who will not break the Fall.The atom turning clockw ise snaps the feathers of the throat And stills the fluted breath.There is no marker here,No broken reed to cross the wind.The water, a lw ays rising,Floating choruses,Brings dark counterpoint To crunch of sand and m occasins,One season  in the sun. . .Before the last p lum es crack.a sense of pride—  by Sheryl L. Nelmsit’s there it permeates western Oklahoma flows through the veins of the peopleborn Choctaw and Cherokeegenerations removed from the Trail of Tearsthey remembermake me wish I’d been born just a little bit Indian■ ■ ■10

Okie Pride / Wing Shot / a sense of pride

https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3477&amp;context=westview

Okie Pride / Wing Shot / a sense of pride

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