Hobo poet
Hobo poet worships the spirits of the hedge
a dry ditch makes the perfect bed
he does not judge the weeds
but sometimes envies the nimble excitement of the bees
Hobo poet knows the long loneliness
drinks from forgotten springs and wells
pleasures himself amid the hawthorn
cries blue moon tears on the shoulder of a stoical oak
Hobo poet feels at ease
in the strangest of places
wakes up besides a silent sea
breathes in life’s airs and graces
Hobo poet pockets abandoned words
Hobo poet silently skirts any fearful town
lest the townsfolk accuse him of stealing their dreams
and put him in the stocks
as a warning to their children
Hobo poet dares the young boy with the dreamy gaze
to join him on an adventure
Hobo poet remembers and then forgets he smells
would give all he owns to touch a pretty woman’s pretty skin
Hobo poet dries his socks upon the brambles
and rubs his fingers between his toes
till the raw gaps peel and gleam
Hobo poet bimbles
as aimlessly as a lazy cloud
and when he is sure that nobody can hear him
sings bashfully to God
Hobo poet leaves his hobo mark
on the lintel of every kindness
Hobo poet knows not to argue with ghosts
Hobo poet often dreams of home
Wakes
Moves on
Hobo poet worships the spirits of the hedge
a dry ditch makes the perfect bed
he does not judge the weeds
but sometimes envies the nimble excitement of the bees
Hobo poet knows the long loneliness
drinks from forgotten springs and wells
pleasures himself amid the hawthorn
cries blue moon tears on the shoulder of a stoical oak
Hobo poet feels at ease
in the strangest of places
wakes up besides a silent sea
breathes in life’s airs and graces
Hobo poet pockets abandoned words
Hobo poet silently skirts any fearful town
lest the townsfolk accuse him of stealing their dreams
and put him in the stocks
as a warning to their children
Hobo poet dares the young boy with the dreamy gaze
to join him on an adventure
Hobo poet remembers and then forgets he smells
would give all he owns to touch a pretty woman’s pretty skin
Hobo poet dries his socks upon the brambles
and rubs his fingers between his toes
till the raw gaps peel and gleam
Hobo poet bimbles
as aimlessly as a lazy cloud
and when he is sure that nobody can hear him
sings bashfully to God
Hobo poet leaves his hobo mark
on the lintel of every kindness
Hobo poet knows not to argue with ghosts
Hobo poet often dreams of home
Wakes
Moves on