that time I met Sherman Alexei

I met

Sherman Alexie

once and this is about that.

that time i met sherman alexei

i think i was 28 when i canceled a failed
book tour in chicago to meet a woman in
albuquerque. the train was 22 hours late.
i thought she had some salvation but really
i was a stray dog and she was the spca.
we headed north along the
turquoise trail, past madrid and the 
cemeteries where the brujas lived.
we went to a native american arts center
replete with with sculptures and paintings 
of a tortured people. we came in late and
hovered at the back as sherman alexei brought 
a humble gravitas to the room. after the reading
i gave him my first book, which was awful. i
told him i loved the poem i would steal horses,
because it's one of the most heartbreaking
artworks i've ever known. he was very kind.
he said, not many people mention that one.
and had me sign my awful book. i borrowed 
a pen and did as he said. that evening
there was rain in the desert and it
smelled like revelation.