The Headless Man
if Rowena's kuzzle was
the center of the Earth
he'd look for a shovel
she was an underpass hooker
exploited by a grim and grimy past
reckless as the day is long
a tourism so shameless
her own union set her on fire
I can't praise them enough
I advised her to talk to her real self
and got 5 blank staring minutes
basically because she didn't have one
only an extremely accurate echo
but she was a rebel and I loved her
kept her head lice population down
just so she could tell me the occasional
bedtime story on an empty stomach
hear now the legend of the Headless Man
once and a long ago
lived a man with no head
one of the many stigmatized gentry
in the long forgotten dairy maid uprising
somehow he could see hear and gesture
even though the neck was a pink nub
but he was hung like a meatloaf
making maidens titter at the village well
sighing rolling their eyes gasping flushed
um where was I
ah he fell in love
with the Bodiless Woman of course
knowing she could be of some use
it's a story of egregious assumptions
a belching sewer of lust and depravity
a juggernaut of rash political ambition
um where was I
ah in the village below
the holy men gathered
around Rowena’s oracle head
they came as the ancient test required
to run barefoot across the fire pit
at Detroit Jimmy's BBQ
the winner was a few inches shorter
from the victory tap dance
a ritual purification of the sense of motion
accompanied by stigmas and signs of wonder
Detroit Jimmy married Nub and Rowena
in a cabbage patch ceremony under the stars
wicked little boy went Row
on their wedding night mud bath
work me like your first bag of fries
went Nub in all humility
and they rode upstate in his Rocket 88
the road spreading gently
like a great pastry
From "Engine of Didactic Beauty" available on Amazon
Artist Portfolio: http://walteralter.byethost32.com/
Copyright © Walter Alter | Year Posted 2016
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