Blood Skeleton

Blood Skeleton

Barry the Bear
stood on the river bank
watching eels swim downstream.

The eels are free in the depths
they do not fear.
Some die on impact
on the rocks in the shallows.

Somehow
the great luminous eels
continue on
singing their songs.

Very few eels
make it to the sea
no men do.

The eels glow like the moon
singing crazy songs.

Barry called it gibberish
as he stood on the bank
watching the waves
flecked with illumination.

The great white eels
were moving
with the slow slushy current.

Barry went back
to washing his Econoline van
thinking about a coupon he'd found
free cup of coffee with purchase.

Up on First Avenue and over
awaited the machine guns
a green limousine
reptiles with some very real emotions.

An early Summer morning
down by the river
a couple hits of loud
washing a gold van.

There's a Detroit song
on the radio
as Motown ushers in the sun.

Barry turned his hat brim down
buffing wax on the van.

The night air
was heavy and metallic
the sky was copper
as dawn broke.

Over on the camp fire
a soup of roast fish
rice and sugar cane.

Barry the Bear re-lit
the smoldering blunt
and called someone
in a nearby phone booth.

-Will Dockery (1981/5-10-20)