One of the Dummies at Night
By Gibson Fay-LeBlanc
He slept in the tinder box
his master made, and oak
grain governed the dreaming –
his left eye clouded over,
he closed the other and saw
mild applause in his future.
His bed sat at a crevice
edge, pure pitch below,
and a cold wind slowed
the senses, rising from who
knows where. Later his mind
became its pin, eschewed
dowels and string and leapt
into the dark. The fall
was pleasurable, apt:
there were no voices
in the breeze, no speeches
to open his mouth.
Take Heart: A Conversation in Poetry is produced in collaboration with the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. Poem copyright © 2012 Gibson Fay-LeBlanc. Reprinted from “Death of a Ventriloquist,” University of North Texas Press, 2012, by permission of Gibson Fay-LeBlanc. Questions about submitting to Take Heart may be directed to Gibson Fay-LeBlanc, special consultant to the Maine poet laureate, at mainepoetlaureate@gmail.com or (207) 228-8263.
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