Summary

“Other Small Thundering” begins “We are born with spinning coins instead of eyes” (1), setting up the path from birth to death as a metaphorical boat ride down the river Styx like the road to Hades in Greek mythology. The speaker uses the first-person-plural to speak for a group as she explains that people must live carrying generational pain. She then associates the American flag with guns and violence. The speaker says that the past has more of an effect on people than current events, and advises wishing for a more romanticized past.

The epigraph of “Jimmy Eagle’s Hot Cowboy Boots Blues” gives the historical context for the poem to follow. In 1975, two FBI agents chased teenager Jimmy Eagle onto the Sioux Reservation when he was accused of stealing a pair of cowboy boots. The poem that follows addresses Jimmy and tells him to...