Immortal lines, not immortal life;
In Idaho does the bear catch the
Salmon or does the salmon leap
Willingly into the bear’s jaws, a
Movable feast? Timid
papa of
Constrained prose, parsed down, parsed down to dust,
To immortal dust. Little nerve when
It came to words, not like Henry or
Jim or even Scott the sot who
Leavened his prose with a liberal lump
Of the candida albicans of
Salacious innuendo.
You
Feigned an affinity for the
Corrida while the desire of your
Cuerno de toro remained
unrequited;
Women, so many of them sampled
For show, seeking one with a spicy
Canary, a refugee from the
Safari between her thighs, seeking
A chance to release the Serinus flaviventri
From inside her, a cunning intrepid
Man might write, but not one so timid
As you, whose words and very life were
Ceaselessly circumscribed by the
Malevolent musical mother
And the relentlessly proper
Patriarch, even unto the time
You were
Papa. In your old age
You slept and insentiently stroked
And smoothed your beard with the tips of your
Fingers and the palm of your hand
Recognizing even one whisker
Awry after so many years, and
You dreamed among the snowy peaks of
A half-naked Cuban boy baked brown in
The tropical sun, reeking of fish
And rum, looking up at you with a grin
Sugarcane juice dripping down from his chin.
Author Bio:
Ned Randle’s poems have appeared in a number of literary publications such as The Spoon River Quarterly, Poydras Review, Emerge Literary Journal, Barnwood International Poetry Magazine, The New Poet, Hamilton Stone Review and Four Ties Literary Review. "Running at Night-Collected Poems" was released April 1, 2013 by Coffeetown Press. His chapbook, Prairie Shoutings and Other Poems, was published by The Spoon River Poetry Press, Bradley University.
Randle’s debut novel "Baxter's Friends" was released June 1, 2013 by Coffeetown Press, Seattle to very good reviews. His most recent short story "Potential" will appear in the upcoming edition of The Examined Life-The Literary Review of Carver Medical College, U. of Iowa. Another, "Clyde", appeared in the Jan. 2016 edition of Soundings Review-Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. "Wild Bill" appeared in Red Earth Review, Summer 2014.
In Idaho does the bear catch the
Salmon or does the salmon leap
Willingly into the bear’s jaws, a
Movable feast? Timid
papa of
Constrained prose, parsed down, parsed down to dust,
To immortal dust. Little nerve when
It came to words, not like Henry or
Jim or even Scott the sot who
Leavened his prose with a liberal lump
Of the candida albicans of
Salacious innuendo.
You
Feigned an affinity for the
Corrida while the desire of your
Cuerno de toro remained
unrequited;
Women, so many of them sampled
For show, seeking one with a spicy
Canary, a refugee from the
Safari between her thighs, seeking
A chance to release the Serinus flaviventri
From inside her, a cunning intrepid
Man might write, but not one so timid
As you, whose words and very life were
Ceaselessly circumscribed by the
Malevolent musical mother
And the relentlessly proper
Patriarch, even unto the time
You were
Papa. In your old age
You slept and insentiently stroked
And smoothed your beard with the tips of your
Fingers and the palm of your hand
Recognizing even one whisker
Awry after so many years, and
You dreamed among the snowy peaks of
A half-naked Cuban boy baked brown in
The tropical sun, reeking of fish
And rum, looking up at you with a grin
Sugarcane juice dripping down from his chin.
Author Bio:
Ned Randle’s poems have appeared in a number of literary publications such as The Spoon River Quarterly, Poydras Review, Emerge Literary Journal, Barnwood International Poetry Magazine, The New Poet, Hamilton Stone Review and Four Ties Literary Review. "Running at Night-Collected Poems" was released April 1, 2013 by Coffeetown Press. His chapbook, Prairie Shoutings and Other Poems, was published by The Spoon River Poetry Press, Bradley University.
Randle’s debut novel "Baxter's Friends" was released June 1, 2013 by Coffeetown Press, Seattle to very good reviews. His most recent short story "Potential" will appear in the upcoming edition of The Examined Life-The Literary Review of Carver Medical College, U. of Iowa. Another, "Clyde", appeared in the Jan. 2016 edition of Soundings Review-Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. "Wild Bill" appeared in Red Earth Review, Summer 2014.
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