granddad’s granddad’s cousin

removed his feet

gangrene uncivil war

andersonville

life in January’s soul closed death’s door

kicked it shut

impossible feat

the photograph shows

twenty years on

a strong man with no feet

wooden boot substitutes

point the way

to a bride and children born

and on through the

door

to then next century.

JANUARY SANDIA MOUNTAIN, 20X20 inches, Angus Macpherson