For Bill Dacier
I met a man who knows the caves,
The Sonoran water holes, who can
Disappear from the side of the road in Summer
Living on agave cabbage, Spanish dagger
and mesquite beans, gathering water
With just a cup and plastic sheet;
Who can climb mountains that don't allow for one mistake,
Then ride a snow-melt first descent to beds of moss and fern,
Find a place to be alone at Canyon Grand in tourist season,
Detect people in the wilderness from a mile away
Because their fear smells just like copper.
He has learned the secrets of peyote,
Where to find it, how to take the white cap off,
How to chop it, how to swallow.
