Razorback Buddha (Anecdote of the Hog)
by Casie Dodd
after Wallace Stevens
The natural state of yards around these parts
is dead gas pumps turned rustic lawn décor—
except from time to time you’ll happen on
a mascot turned immortal garden gnome,
fresh-painted red and white with arms outstretched.
It keeps the wilderness in sharp relief
from all the gravel roads and rotting cars
that have outlived their glory days before
becoming one more testament to loss.
In fall, the highway dust spreads all around,
a kind of rural sprawl less gray than green
as flecks of Ozark hills leave stains of gold.
The hog takes all the elements in stride,
a Buddha’s nostrils flared in victory.
At peace, it speaks of paint more blood than rust—
so bright—like so much else in Arkansas.
Casie Dodd lives in Arkansas with her husband and two children. Her writing has appeared in Fare Forward, Ekstasis, Front Porch Republic, and other journals. She is the Founder and Editor of Belle Point Press, a new small press celebrating the literary culture of America's Mid-South.
