Frisked On Fraser and Woburn Death Fugue by Robert Lashley
A response to Ferguson, made into art
A response to Ferguson, made into art
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Frisked On Fraser and Woburn Death Fugue
"Or does it explode?”
—Langston Hughes, "What Happens to a Dream Deferred"
Or does it escape you?
Does it leave—in the quiet—
in a sudden September—
by nature—by water—
In a circle of cars
and men who plead your body
like a drum—
men who plead your blood long after your skin
lies in its veneer of matter.
And after they finish
will the sun have too much light?
Will the breeze and all its subtexts
violate your space
and will the willow trouble your mind?
Will the evergreens—fixed
in their portable promised lands—
color a life you'll never have?
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Header image, "Third Eye," courtesy of Caratoes. To view a gallery of her art, go here.
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Robert Lashley is the author of The Homeboy Songs (Small Doggies Press, 2014). A semi finalist for the PEN/Rosenthal fellowship, Lashley has had poems and essays published in such Journals as Feminete, No Regrets, NAILED, and Your Hands, Your Mouth. His work was also featured in Many Trails To The Summit, an anthology of Northwest form and Lyric poetry. To quote James Baldwin, he wants to be an honest man and a good writer.