Poems from a Farmhouse Basement
All of This, All of This
The mourning doves arrive in droves
just before the shadow climbs
over the timberline.
You pick up a newspaper and read
that fires are blazing whole towns
out west and 7,600 people are newly
without a home.
The mouse catches her neck in the trap
waiting for you to yank back the spring
set her broken dead body in the trash.
Hosho says he lost his job and his novel
keeps getting rejected.
You’ve kept your job
that you don’t even want
but the rent is due and of course
you never wrote a novel.
We all suffer so much that there is
almost
a sense of community, compassion
perhaps even a little
bit of understanding.
and yet
all of this shared sorrow
all of this similar sadness
makes none of it
any better.
And the sun finally falls behind the ridge
the birds settle back
into cold dry nests to await
another frozen-blooded dawn.
Coronation
the throne on which our songs are seated
holds more than just a hero
we need no bravery or sacrifice
but a word
a melody
a dance partner
so bow down
to music
kiss the ring
of rhythm
love the air
on which
our songs may travel
For All I Could Give
the butterfly is no match
for the spider’s web
caught and flapping and screaming
the spider offers no condolences
smiling and laughing
feasting on living beauty
and I am no match for you
caught in my vision of your rosy cheeks
the memory of your body
comfortable and willing and tight
against mine
I see it now
how I did only as I pleased
and I didn’t know
anything
about love—
wasted love
all your wasted hours
I was only a child and so were you
though you knew much more
than I did
and still now you know more
you have more
than just the looking back
that I have.
I can’t tell who was who
the taste or the tooth
the predator or the prey
for the light or the dark or all the in-between
I can’t say what it was I gave
but I know
whatever it was
I meant it
and it was not enough
to keep you.
Contributor
Peter Kahn
Peter Kahn lives on a small farm in southeastern Wisconsin. He can usually be found in the woods or on a barstool. His work has appeared in various small press journals across the US and in the UK.