2 May 2010 | Vol. 10, No. 1
slapout
the cotton grows wings and rises,
rocking chairs bare their wooden knees.
there are amphetamines in the horses' hay,
psychotropics in the cattle trough,
on the dinnerplate, styrofoam cornbread.
a porch with a mouthful of boards says hello
to a church steeple, who asks
what is this cheap oak table tarnish smell in the air?
gospel-town children: fly, flee, pretend to sing.
dilly-dally over gasoline shadows, be ticking tin
under water drop, be bold resolution,
birth of mad cloud and rain.
a tractor will move through the white columns,
horses will wail & gnash their hooves.
let us take it for what it is.
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About the author:
Cade Collum is the author of two chapbooks titled The Dogs of Havana (Red Hydra Press, 2008) and Lion-Froth Crown (Red Hydra Press, forthcoming). His poems have also appeared or are forthcoming in Vulcan and Ginosko. He received a B.A. in Psychology and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he is currently living and working as a full-time Instructor.
For further reading:
See the complete list of work by Cade Collum at 42opus. Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 10, No. 1, where "slapout" ran on May 2, 2010. List other work with these same labels: poetry.
