Buffalo Candle

[the mingo]

my cousin is coming over today
i hope he brings a candle
if he even has a candle
he's not known much for carrying around
any kind of light source
i'm not even sure he knows that
i have this old buffalo skull
& even if he did it still
would never occur to him
to bring a candle
maybe i should give him a call,remind him
but then,synapses & human nature & my cousin
being what they are,he'll just ask why
or go "What?"as if understanding were not possible
and i'd know right then
that i might as well rebook the whole show
or just forget about it...

my other cousin (so beautiful) wouldn't do that
if i went to her asking for a candle
she'd just call me an old pervert
and i'd be standing there,a flushed chump,totally unmasked, with
an idiot smile on my face hoping for it to cover
my nakedness
& she'd just look at me and go,"See,ya don't even know
how to act,do ya?"

at that point i'd know
it was time to go put
some fresh lilacs on
my mother's grave & leave a little white stone behind
as a marker there because
ya can't hide from the truth
it always
always
finds you out
candle or no candle

[judih]

if georgia o'keeffe could do it
i can
she knew a skull
and a buffalo for what they were
and weren't
she knew a flower
and a desert
she knew
and if she knew
i can know
or not
in gordian terms
a knot is a knot
or not

[the mingo]

ah,beautiful judih on such a beautiful morning-if my day keeps bringing large blessings like this by evening i'll have to rent storage space...

[Arcadia]

the poem reminds me somehow Louisa May Alcott!!!!!

[mnaz]

Interesting. I think I've been the "what?" end of that conversation, as well as the candle seeker, in the ebb and flow. At least that's how I remember it..

[hester_prynne]

You've No need for a candle Mingo.
Your light shines perfectly...
this poem is an incredible, juicy, good read.

H

[WIREMAN]

light my day mingo.....

[mtmynd]

"ya can't hide from the truth
it always
always
finds you out
candle or no candle"

capitalize that Truth, mingo... it's the only capital worth a goddam!

terrific read... loved it.

[the mingo]

arcadia-you'll hafta 'splain the Louisa May Alcott ref!
mnaz -same thing keeps happening to me as you can see & thx!
hester - thx hest & to tell ya the truth even with a candle a man still stands in humble need of company
wireman - my pleasure wireman and thx
mtmynd - ya know i thought about that while i was working with it but let it go the way it went down...but you're right...thx