T. J. Anderson III

True, like I scribe to you
Devonte was a foot soldier.
Hep to the old one two
brogan banged pavement.


Downbeat long past
"feets do yo stuff."
He was the dis
mordant shuffler,
son of the penny-ante,
off-beat "love will find a way" Blakean prodigy.


Glider of man
holes and jack-ball
bottles pushed to the curb.


He was the hoofer,
the wolf boy calling cadence
to Okmulgee back
dreams and dawning days
where he Eagle Rocked
in Cimarron sludge
and ragged tails at a high school dance



After hours
Devonte pushed a rickety shopping cart
through market lanes and stone soul picnic
surrey with the frontier fringe on top.
emblematic of the colonizer's booze
grandiloquent booby prize filth
progeny of branch noose ripe tree



Legacy of a miraculous
bounty of hang nailed fingers
blood birds poaching pedigrees to
"Here I am. Now you see me, now you don't."
subject to the gaze of distant blue hated brothers
or rather a bother of continual apparition

the "me not me" rattling in the stove pipe
of his own voice rife with suffering.
...

Devonte, think of it this way
that the faces of gods

are hidden in the bathroom orchids.

Believe you me I've seen them

silently whispering through the shampoo smoke

the aftershave offerings

that waft over our lady of the toilet

above the hydrogenous fissures we mistake for mouths
above the hand that trembles

before unscrewing the aspirin host
above the mouthwash
with its undeniable

periwinkle for cleanliness
the commode gods are staring.

They are contemplating
your next awkward preamble.

They are waiting
to pounce forth from
the moan and sway
of your bowels,
eat away at you like
maggots devouring flesh.
...

Sometimes the ancestors call









tongue to mouth
an auburn molt of daguerreotypes stained

Sometimes the ancestors call









an earwig gracefully arranged
a pebble between pincers caught
is the scene's composition

Sometimes the ancestors call



shovel heeled curt wedge of earth,
a convent of daisies assaulted
a lunar moth poised at dung end
oak leaf suddenly caught at mid-fall







Sometimes the ancestors call

dark sip sickle scythe curve
a wagon's tracks from coffins weighed
Wind to forecast their arrival
Wind to dictate the shuffle
and strut of steps
to the rust of gates.



Sometimes the ancestors call







Not in the great cinema graphic arias
Of gun firing bandits at a locomotive's gray smoke
But in rage of gray starlings
Circling over head













Not in the paranoia of walks down bug house corridors
Nor to bed pans brimmed do they call.
Not in the paranormal cadences
of cathedral spiked with sepulcher and crucifix



I could be anything
other than what I propose here
I could be song
I could be dance
I could be slab of sky





How many generations still left to measure?
At what cost this cadence?
At what price the grave's granite thumb?
...

a name—a date—a place—a year—a day—a month—a century—an epoch—a season—a surname—
a middle initial—a first name—an occupation—a quote—a place to drop flowers—
a ridge of stone—a seed of bone—a mound—a knee bent to ground—a section—a locale—
a pastoral ridge—a road to drive to—a plot—a thickening—a tear—a tear—a lawn manicured—
a special tree—a special plea—a seclusion—a sedation—a seduction—a will—a testament—
a bridge—a finality—a cough—a recognizable sniffle—a special suit—a subdued tie—
a receding hair line—a brown shoe—a brown shoe—a black belt—a wedding ring—
a carnation—a pair of glasses—a handkerchief—a stiff upper lip—a stiff upper lip—
a flask—a memorial program—a church fan—a hearse's engine—a white cloud overhead—
a fallen leaf—a sudden bird song—a sun in the branches—a nugget of dirt—a sprinkler—
a lawn mower—a funeral flag—a random bicyclist—a black gate—a black gait—a record—
a capacity—a requiem—a window—a windbag—a slight—a slip—a read—a reed—
a rhapsody—a lapel—a brush—a flaw—a spare—a sparkle—a spandex—a crown—a castanet—
a eulogy—a feud—a flood—a stamp—a cellular text—a sandwich—a candy bar—
a bag of nuts—a casserole—a potted plant—a creeping moss—a caterpillar—a cocoon—
a loose thread—a sweaty armpit—a cigarette stub—a loose quarter—a bottle of pills—
a veil—a hat band—a line of reasoning—a contract—a contact—a religious medal—
a lawyer—a widow—a survivor—a shovel—a pulley—a glove—a dog—a beetle—
a business card—a repass—a nickel—a sneeze—a cough—a lien—a reunion—
a genealogy—a claimant—a brick pathway—a curb—an abode—a body—a body—a body—
...