Philosophical Visitation #39

Painting by Duane Locke


PHILOSOPHICAL VISITATION 39

On an Easter Sunday, a group of us,

Those with wounds that would not heal,

Was out searching for the Holy Grail.


We came across bodies sprawled out
on the pulverized sea-urchin sand
Of a beach where the water changed colors
From turquoise to azure.

The bodies were still and resembled corpses
Each corpses was nude and wore dark glasses.
Each one
Has a flock of toy, metal ravens by his sides.
The toy raven when wound up would peck
On shoulders, chests, breasts, arms and legs.

This elaborate and expensive arrangement
Was organized to simulate
the state of being dead.
No expense was spared to make the scene
as realistic as possible.

The people pretended to be corpses pecked
by ravens had found all pleasures
that society invented to be boring.

We heard the clicking of the toy raven’s
metal gears as we walked by these naked people
in our search for the Holy Grail.

A majority of our group gave up
their search for the Holy Grail,
and joined the corpses.


Duane Locke

Posted over on Quill and Ink