dereliction of duty
September 16, 2013 § 4 Comments
dereliction of duty
at one end of the rope,
an old man’s dog
thin trunk of
plum tree at
the other
between the two not
a blade of grass survived
nearing the end of
my route I would stop,
drop my transistor into
my newspaper sack,
and try to
translate his mournful language
into one which fit within
an awkward boy’s understanding
howls that colored
afternoon’s aura in
hues of despair
whines forming canine
pleas for a measure
of companionship
if the plums were ripe
I would mind his tether,
bend a branch
and take one
then let him lap
the juice from my fingers
he never tried to remove
any of them
though, I knew he had reason to
I came, after all,
from a race of captors,
to take from a tree
the dog was sure
he was assigned
as guardian
(c) 2013 Fred Whitehead
tenor blue
September 14, 2013 § Leave a comment
tenor blue
it is good to remember
tenor blue evenings
crickets singing of a
a fall and a rise –
a young heart’s tremor,
bookended by dew,
surviving the stall
to be be written in
symbols inscribed
in the clay
of himself –
set permanent
by the heat
of a bond to be
(c) 2013 Fred Whitehead
the prayer of star builders
September 8, 2013 § Leave a comment
gather up
volcanos sleep deep –
gather volcanos
sleep twenty seven below
walk waterways where
thin kings
thinking up
hothouses for fire orchids
say to you
be within your eyes
be inside your voice
don’t let the dust of mustn’t
linger long on your shoulders
be within your breath
live the pulse of one who knows
how particles cleave
like new lovers
sweep into your arms days
meant for forest spirits
forever set aside time to
be unhinged
be a fountain
that accepts offerings
before offering them back
when the crying is finished
be thankful for what you have lost
and for what you have not
allow yourself to be
smothered in love
spin the universe on your finger
inhale the light of unknown suns
be the long chant prayer
of star builders
(c) 2013 Fred Whitehead
paternal oversight
September 3, 2013 § 1 Comment
deliberately
off world
as territorial conflict
threatens drift –
downstairs
into the living room
he sits at his desk
attending to the pathology
of his own mind
doors slammed distant
backbeat
to the tapping of his pen
on that mystical
point between his closed eyes
voices ring out malfeasance,
skirmish lines advance
between rooms
he, unmoved, using
contemplation
as an instrument of indifference
(c) 2013 Fred Whitehead
key
September 2, 2013 § 4 Comments
somewhere
on this ring-
maybe alongside
the one that unlocks the shed,
hangs the key to my bewilderment –
jingling there
with two or three
that start cars I no
longer own and
an odd shaped thing
that opens towel
dispensers at work
it is there, among
all that have
joined the ranks over the years,
their purpose forgotten
but kept in honor
of their service none
the less –
this population growth
only adds to my confusion
I don’t have the
energy to try them all
so, for now,
I will do what I do best
I will buy
more rings,
gather more keys,
I will,
as expected,
keep wondering
(c) 2013 Fred Whitehead
blink
September 1, 2013 § Leave a comment
blink and
childhood awakens
implanted memory
this morning triggered by
something in the laundry aisle
detergents, starch
bleach… maybe
a girl going by
not possible, this is understood
but I went to
look anyway
moving slowly to the
end of the aisle,
leaning out
and looking both ways
as if I was on
my old front lawn again
expecting a friend
(c) 2013 Fred Whitehead
how I react to a question when I’m obviously involved in something:
August 25, 2013 § Leave a comment
this distraction, having
stripped me of my defenses
rises up before me
an unwelcome Lucius with
a fistful of toga,
demanding explanation
to a world ready to act
at the signal
I process the inevitable
falling mute
is all I have to offer
(c) 2013 Fred Whitehead
cure #4
August 23, 2013 § Leave a comment
the turning inward
for diagnosis revealed
a required purging
it’s nice to unify
August 20, 2013 § Leave a comment
there isn’t much that will
bring together a people
quite as
completely
as irrational fear
I have seen them
drop on it –
wide eyed insects
chopping up a carcass
each going in
for their piece of paranoia
no matter how much
they shear
off of the mass
it continued to grow,
bloated and brackish,
doubling on rumors
bulking up on half-knowns,
it will gladly relinquish
parts of itself
into the hands of those
recently moved to
the task
of planting deep
the cuttings
it pulsates in odd rhythm
as its’ feastlings
quickly acquire
an expertise at
fretting and accusing
as roots take hold
until they finally succumb to
the shadows created
by the towering unreason
they have nurtured
(c) 2013 Fred Whitehead
cure #3
August 19, 2013 § Leave a comment
how it came to be
was through the frequency – a
healing vibration
(c) 2013 Fred Whitehead