P O E T S ON THE LINE
a continuing anthologyFounded by Andrew Gettler & Linda Lerner
NO. 9 & 10 T H E M I L L E N N I U M I S S U E
Edited by Linda Lerner
R. D. ARMSTRONG
Eyes Like Mingus
(For Steve Fowler)
Eyes like flint
like flecks of coal
like shiny bits of starless sky
trapped in the ruins of a slag heap Eyes like molten steel
sullen and angry
piercing--a bullet finding its mark
like a jaguar
passionate and alive
yet hating the trap
pacing behind the bars
bars like a skeleton
trapped inside the mind
behind Eyes like concrete--shattering
like glass--splintering
like the wrecking ball's slap
like a voltage--unregulated
like a passion laid bare
to the gallery's scrutiny
like the inexplicable accuracy of random fate
like a shot to the belly
like Coltrane's "Favorite Things"
like your fingers--stilled Eyes like an empty glass
staring bug-eyed into space
upturned and dispassionate
like a dream--lost in the stars Eyes like Mingus
silent but never
silenced.
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