Frost crept inside the mind
Of a desperate young man
Who craved some response
And over. And under. And moves
glorious whole-some-thing
Buck-like stag-startled
Deer-shot. Anything
But this numb-fear battle-ox.
For the buckeye the winds create less havoc.
The birds are lifted out of harm’s way.
Look, most of it will mend.
Hush!
Listen to the whisperer
Who keeps a quiet vigil
Still loves you.
But the dog whistlers
Farm us into submission
alarm and raise our heckles
Til we crave our own blood
And weep with the taste of it.
Wolves we are in the whispering woods
Our guts quietly spilling
Through to the roots
We hear only the distant whistle
fear and crave its blood promise.
Dense is the cloud
The light’s thrown off
And cold the sea
And rough.
Thrown into tracks
The frontwinds steer
The phoebes North
To South.
Caught up in net
The warbler lies
Like death in stitch
And throttle.
The ships on glass
Pass through the yard
The word less strum
And battle.
Tears are offered here
This place, our sacred stage
Where I give my name,identity
You offer yours in surprise aside
Our business, our status, what forces at play?
This prologue, these tragedies, these years brought forth
To day, this still gathering of mourners
Cry, greet, keep your lines and destiny
’til you are so familiar with them, and this strange other,
You cannot speak nor see him as anything but your brother.
You say you’re here, with me
Wherever. You say what time?
I say, whenever. You say,
You need to know for sure.
I say, whatever, whatever.
You were (here, I should explain myself) always there,
Like a familiar song (there’s something almost on the tip of my tongue) that offers connection.
Context (this soft light is on us) is, of course, essential.
How can we begin (if we’re both listening)?
What can be said (with the desire to impress the other) that hasn’t been said before?
This (never mind the emptiness where depth offers possibility) place where familiarity dies (my vanity, ego, delirium) is loneliness.
I was told to leave it outside
It was bound to get in the way.
I used to think that would be nice,
But dream on. It’s here to stay.
Now I realize it’s essential,
You mustn’t nurse it.
That overblown balloon. Burst it.
Let it float up to the corner of the room.
A drone. And be the first to pop
Your own.
Lips stuck in mock stop, O!
Crisis? What crisis?
You say, Nothing a good bit of
Spirit and craft won’t cure.
You say, The problem with people
These days is their lack of… grit?
You say, They can’t see what
I’ve had to endure.
So fair and foul a day.
You’re tough like glass
But not unbreakable. I’ve
Seen the tears when
Your worldview falls through.
I’ve watched you sweep it clear
When truth with all its
Hard matter and fact
Threatens to crack your
Veneer. Crazed sneer.
The wood sways. Afraid in its fog.
What does town say?
Alarmed and armed contempt
Does come this way.
King Lear dropped by last night.
Brought his whole ensemble out:
Daughters, court, Gloucester’s eyes,
Shakespeare learnt en route,
Out of one kingdom, an evasion,
Straight into this fools’ paradise.
Thud thud thud. Let’s to our prison!
Old man, I see that recognition
In your eyes. What desire! Still?
After all these years? The audience
So nice in its comprehension.
Young flesh is long since dead.
The poetry transcends time and beats
Its cacophonous drum. A soliloquy
Out of the ecstasy of kingdom’s cum.
Earth covered son and blood
Splattered everyone until we knew
It was on our own hands too.
I wonder how many felt your agony?
Exhaustion, shame? I wonder how
Many conspire in the reign
Of those who let a whim determine
Who’s in, who’s out? Who played
which part? Who’s left outside
the theatre again, alone in the rain
and dark?
What is your dream?
Why, for Sanders, has the American
Dream become a nightmare?
Is this Hollywood star its epitome?
Hold on to this word, mamae:
Pain, suffering, struggle,
And this one, aroha:
Love and compassion.
These plans and dreams,
the thresher and crash,
Listen, still rumbling along,
Threaten and cash in.
We’ll meet two people,
Caught up in these times,
Just as we are, in ours,
Looking for a place to dream.
