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CutBank Literary Magazine

The Literary Journal of the University of Montana
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40 YEARS OF CUTBANK: "On the Death of Marie Smith Jones" by Gabriel Furshong

June 24, 2014

From CutBank 75

On the Death of Marie Smith Jones

The word does not exist

for a glint of sound that unblends whitetail deer from hay fields.

If a word exists, meaning soft dangerous spot on the river it is no longer felt through speech in the muscles of the feet.

When I heard no language to withhold this absence I stopped the car and stepped outside.

Snow broke from my boots onto the black highway.

No word for a blur of land and light adrift in veils of heat.

- Maria Smith (1919-2008) was the last known speaker of the Alaskan native language Eak. _________________________

Gabriel Furshong writes from Missoula, Montana, where he works for the Montana Wilderness Association.  His poetry has been published in the anthology, “I Go to the Ruined Place: Contemporary Poems in Defense of Global Human Rights” (Lost Horse Press, 2009) and the CutBank Literary Magazine.  His writing has also appeared in High Country News, Earth Island Journal, Montana Magazine, Montana Quarterly, and Plenty Magazine.

In 40 Years of CutBank
← 40 YEARS OF CUTBANK: "Unison Calling" by Angie Macri40 YEARS OF CUTBANK: "Toward the Tall Grass" by Michael Levan →
CutBank: Where the big fish lie... CutBank 
University of Montana
English Dept, LA 133
Missoula, MT 59812
Editor-In-Chief: editor.cutbank@gmail.com
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