Hiram Larew

Like Whistled

If I could be anything at all

I’d be a curve

Because nothing is as direct or to the point

as some bend is

Or is as beautifully lit from beneath

or lifted along the way

Nothing else goes out or comes back in

like what’s whistled

I’d be a curve as much as anyone --

Smooth edged between

here and there

now and then

done and care

I’d turn myself into

a rounding of

a jaw its mane

some rugged moss

I’d be a curve but more than that

the shape of times like these

that skirt so close around

the only if

and really be

What’s to How

If times are leary

and water seeps

Or stories fraying

and eagers dip

If dreams are coughing

and endings scrape

Or brothers slipping

and certain blinks

Then what’s to how

or hope to keep

If Spring is older

and hellos beep

Or tree trunks leaning

and corners wait

Uncle Never

He came through when no one was looking

Slipped in unnoticed

just like a noontime shadow

And it was only when things were finishing up

coming to a close

that someone said Who’s that

No one seemed to know

or cared to say

And just about then he started to mumble

and point his finger

here and there at everyone

Like a prophet almost

with those rounded shoulders

What he said

was Live simple!

Then something like No more high-strung wires! (or ways!)

And then he coughed out No more cream ever again!

Never!

All this time

he was frowning and smiling

together

And so, everybody picked up and left

in a shuffle

Especially when he turned round

Like a dervish

here and there in the dream

up on tip toes and in that burlap cap

Yes, disperse was what happened so that

everyone was soon gone

He had probably been drinking

or was just full of lone and roam

In any case that next morning at breakfast

the butter seemed to

taste very brand new

what with all of it

being melted

Hiram Larew's poems have appeared widely, most recently in Poetry South, Honest Ulsterman, Contemporary American Voices, Fevers of the Mind and Best Poetry Online. His most recent collection, Mud Ajar, was released in 2021 by Atmosphere Press. www.HiramLarewPoetry.com