SIMON PETTET ~

 Simon Pettet

POEM ("can't get enough of that")



can't get enough of that
kora music
inscribing letters on a
full moon


each of the notes then
each of the letters
crystal clear
incised on the moon's cheek


absolute in a way
as she tumbles
(they tumble out)
onto the page


or into the sky
(that blanket of emptiness)
followed by cascades
(and shimmers)
of gold and black dust


and pinpoints of light


that's you






POEM ("You still here Franco. . .")



You still here Franco

where?

in your daughter's face

calling Franco in spirit world

can I come in? yes,

no.

you would have flipped over e mail!






POEM ("coyote howls on the crossroads")



coyote howls on the crossroads

crop dusters spew noxious vapors

as we speed by industrial chemical plants

and factories and prisons

and set out on to the open plains



are not wolves

(look in their eyes)

brother animals?

and should we not protect them?

as we supposedly (but hardly!) protect ourselves.



___________________



S I M O N   P E T T E T

As A Bee

Talisman House, Publishers
P.O. Box 102
Northfield, MA 01360

photograph by John Sarsgard

SIMON PETTET ~

There is a cruel, messianic, dim, tribal intransigence


That gains you nothing


There's a bull-headed childish baby-tantrum


That can unleash untold consequences


I am appalled by the darkening of the sky


I watch my love


It is always my love I watch









The first time that we stayed
In the city we stayed indoors
But I looked out a lot
On an empty lot (and)
Was quiet and kept to myself


We first moved in the dead of winter
I was like an animal
Needing some place warm
(which of course I never got)


But I do recall golden shafts of light
Upon me
One particular winter's afternoon









the robin and the butterfly


and the leaf and the flame


and the extinction









It is when the extreme point of restlessness


is reached


that grace comes



at a terrific speed










BEAU REGARD


Her skinny body is white as a harvest moon,
Clear as a crystal goblet, radiating light
She has one face, two hands with slender fingers,
bright eyes, she looks at me,
she's not afraid to look at me
nor I to look back









SHE


She
is the very picture of fortitude
and on her head wears one of several
floppy hats,
drapes her form in glorious scarlet
and is at ease,
when bending down and calmly placing
either one of both her hands
upon the stormy animal's mouth


__________________________________

Simon Pettet
from More Winnowed Fragments
(Talisman House, 2005)

photo : john sarsgard