Philip Byron Oakes


Blemish

Reprimand to man. Extolled as of a kind.
Kin to innocence of rhythm. One foot
falling, to the rear of the formation of
ice. Dancing past simple, to the never was
as if. The border’s been crossed, in
speaking of travel, to those who’d rather
sit and wait. Caress the infinite, for what
it’s worth, in killing time as a friend to
those who count. On being over it in
under record time, to breathe. To
please the odds in getting even,
pretending life is fair, to the free for the
taking what’s left. Held to be, in hands
culled from the pockets, of those who
stand to reason the anomalies away.


Segues All Day

Elliptical popsicles of shady memory, in a struggle
to hear the ice cream truck. The echo in the hourglass.
School bells tolling. A flea running away with the
circus, only to find. A gray mouthful of advice in the air.
A collection of chicken muscles in the offing, sworn
to avenge the scarecrow lurking within. A blue moon
every month. A place, where the dead cats have
possibilities. The schadenfreude puts smiles where
they belong. The cool breezes taking the ice as inspiration,
to put the rabid penguins out to prowl for the souls
of little boys. Where the dog went to heaven on a
work visa. The grins on the ghouls went to hell where
they belong.


a.m.

The ceiling dawns. The crust hardening
around the edges of scenery, soon to be
boasting of reality. The slow drip of light
into lives lost, in the sinking of the titanic
into here and now. A residual heat of
passion keeping warm the way it used to
be. Appeal your eyes and listen. Unfeel
the touch of velvet, if you can. The abc’s
of body language slurred in resurrection,
one cowardly appendage at a time to
celebrate. Ethereal shackles worn as
jewelry of the beautiful mind, lost
shopping for a thought. The cockerel
yodels. A brave new nothing. A
founder’s day to call your own.



Philip Byron Oakes is a poet living in Austin, Texas. His work has appeared in numerous journals, including Cricket Online Review, Otoliths, Moria, E.ratio and Blue & Yellow Dog. He is the author of two volumes of poetry, Cactus Land (77 Rogue Letters) 2009 and Sard (Otoliths) 2010.
http://philipbyronoakes.blogspot.com
 
 
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