Poetics

A whitewater rapids of tumbling words,
flowing fast and furious, threatening to crash,
or a decaying tooth holding fast by its roots,
refusing to give way, painstakingly extracted.

A scientist interrogates the mysteries of the cosmos
and determines we are principally uncertain.

A mystic stalks a labyrinth to invite visions
and loses herself, becoming the universe.

An explorer sets sail for new frontiers
and runs aground in lands already occupied.

A pirate raids an English brigantine for its gold
and exhausts the booty on rum while singing sea shanties.

A potter shapes clay into prismatic pottery, plates and mugs,
and fills them with nachos and beer.

An artisan strips away the layers of peeling paint
and reveals the natural beauty of the wood carving.

A psychologist penetrates humanity's dark shadows
and is eaten by the boogie man hiding under the bed.

A fortune teller gazes into a crystal ball
and finding it forever cloudy makes some shit up.

A gardener nurtures the seedlings in the rich humus
not knowing whether they will yield fruit or die from the blight.

A miner burrows deep for the glitter of gold
but owes his soul to the company store.

A picketer disrupts the corporate office, demanding justice,
and frees himself from the confines of a nine-to-five.

A librarian sorts and categorizes to impose order on chaos
and returns home to unwashed dishes perpetually piled high.

A paramour makes love in staid halls,
and shocks the self-righteous with the secret joys of fornication.

To breathe new life
into a tired world.

©2016 Kenneth W. Arthur