Tulsa in the winter By Amy Shelver

I’ve only been to Tulsa in the winter
When the air’s so dry
it’ll turn you to a splinter

I’d heard it was a town
Where all the good musicians
made a round

And you could walk knee deep in oil
But still have to twist and turn
to keep your head above the boil

It’s got it’s quaint alright
But those gridded streets
are long the site of fight

Ancient in the American way
It’s a place you keep coming back to
but can never stay

The Arkansas river pulses like a nerve
Adding to Tulsa’s soft edges
and its Art Deco curves

Grand enough for Oklahoma folk
It’s got a charm if you’re not looking
for those a’going broke

The music men, they love its BOK
A place in middle ‘Merica
to pause ‘n be okay

Maybe a place to turn a dash of freedom
into a little meanin’
There, on the open plains of feelin’

I’ll keep on coming to Tulsa in the winter
Keep on searching for
Her liquid glimmer

And stories of the fight for liberty
And other winter tales
that’ll crack ya open, certainly

Keep comin’ back to Tulsa
and to you, that place
for which there’s no falter

"Middle American Nostaligia" photograph by Amy Shelver
Artwork: Middle American Nostalgia (2020) | Amy Shelver | Iphonography | Artist's personal collection, inspired by Jason Lee | Not for sale
"Middle American Nostalgia" photograph and next to "Tulsa in the winter" poem by Amy Shelver
"Match-made" drawing by Charlie Bagley and Jurgen van Staden
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