Tributary
How could you not be captivated
by her bohemian chic
and dirty bare feet,
voice chanting with sounds
borrowed from our unrecorded past.
She is offering a new branch--
a divergent history
and antediluvian caresses.
Kneel with her a moment,
let her lips press your human vestiges
and her hands remove
stain and defeat from your permanence.
You bathe in wet earth,
unbecoming yourself
spilling the last illness
into her forgiving lap.
Now try to look at her once more.
Her clothing conceals nothing.
Her feet glide over intangible soil.
Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He lives in Huntley, IL, with his wife, Vickie and daughter, Sage. He is a ten-time Pushcart, Best of the Net and Best of the Web nominee whose work has appeared in more than fifteen hundred publications including The Louisiana Review, Plainsongs, Texas Review, Hawai’i Review, Roanoke Review, Sugar House Review and The William and Mary Review. His poem “Grease Poet” was a prize winner of the Woodrow Hall award for enduring excellence. His poem "Nemesis” won the Songs of Eretz Editor's Choice award.
How could you not be captivated
by her bohemian chic
and dirty bare feet,
voice chanting with sounds
borrowed from our unrecorded past.
She is offering a new branch--
a divergent history
and antediluvian caresses.
Kneel with her a moment,
let her lips press your human vestiges
and her hands remove
stain and defeat from your permanence.
You bathe in wet earth,
unbecoming yourself
spilling the last illness
into her forgiving lap.
Now try to look at her once more.
Her clothing conceals nothing.
Her feet glide over intangible soil.
Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He lives in Huntley, IL, with his wife, Vickie and daughter, Sage. He is a ten-time Pushcart, Best of the Net and Best of the Web nominee whose work has appeared in more than fifteen hundred publications including The Louisiana Review, Plainsongs, Texas Review, Hawai’i Review, Roanoke Review, Sugar House Review and The William and Mary Review. His poem “Grease Poet” was a prize winner of the Woodrow Hall award for enduring excellence. His poem "Nemesis” won the Songs of Eretz Editor's Choice award.
