Electric Shivers
fear seems to be the cause du jour
fear if it all just ended
shapes us like quivering jello molds
fear of the landline
tapping into our heads
fear of the landmine
careless gifts from the feds
electric shivers
primal and oozing
forgetting ripe young days
played out in faded kodachrome
ripp'd into summer's apple
flushed future shiny bright
dimmed by memory's bitter yen
the terrible beauty of what could be
now just sloshes out like regrets and bad wine
make like the sparrow that hides in the bower
for who is the shadow on the doorstep at noon?
make for the mage in the tumbledown tower
bring him warm bloodwine, he'll grant you a boon
grasp for the jib line
gasp for the moon 'cause
all the fair haired heroes have jaundice
leatherskinned and alone above corner liquor stores
old capes used as blankets, stained with nostalgia
huddled around scrapbooks filled with clippings
when a world made some sense
bubbling under a mantle of order
of when the world wanted cops 'n robbers
drunk indians lassoed and penitent
mysterious strangers with masks and grooming
problem solved
freedom used to be free
(but not for a gov'ment career)
move along, nothing to see
question nothing you've ever heard here
but do any words now
whether spoken or ink
have some monitored text?
will the next bard or wry wordsmith
have to sneak stealthily in
through the trapdoor of the poet house
or perHaps clevErLy sPin US!!!
through coded thought crime?
is the opposite of fear
really love?
(or is it even worse)
are we damned in quiet whispers
if the opposite of love
is apathy
meh.
Copyright © Andrew Foreman | Year Posted 2020
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