Month: July 2012

MIA . . . His Coming Back
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And they waited for his coming back
From this war that never ends:
The unkempt lawn, the untended tree,
The faded plastic chairs,
The narrow rusty gate
And its crying hinges.
His mother, his brother, father and sister,
All frozen inside time: withered
In winter, bowed from days of grief.

His family is certain there will be a day
When he suddenly comes; then everything
In this place will start to move: the grass will grow,
The tree will carry its fruit, the plastic
Chairs become polished, and the narrow
Gate will start to turn, will open,
And never close again.

If only he would come back, only just appear:
The bubble of time will burst,
Their scarred hearts will beat smoothly,
They will drop to their knees, slowly,
And lift their eyes to him,
Weeping their thanksgiving prayer.

***

Gone
Everybody loved Chick Lorimer in our town,
Far off
Everybody loved her.
So we all love a wild girl keeping a hold
On a dream she wants.
Nobody knows now where Chick Lorimer went.
Nobody knows why she packed her trunk.
A few old things and is gone.

One with her little chin
Thrust ahead of her
And her soft hair blowing careless
From under a wide hat,
Dancer, singer, a laughing passionate lover.

Were there ten men or a hundred hunting Chick?
Were there five men or fifty with aching hearts?
Everybody loved Chick Lorimer.
Nobody knows where she’s gone.

On Getting Old.

It’s a strange sensation, being sixty.

Feel as I have won a battle

struggling up a mountain of years,

Now that I’ve captured the high

Grounds I can look back and smile

sans regrets.

Look ahead and see a new

beginning, ’cause I now that I’ll be

a flower on an almond tree.

***

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer performing Crocodile Man

Hey Tracy sings a folk standard. You know this song.