Poetic Joust
“Why allude to the pinion of the linnet’s wing,” he said,
“when brother poets sing of ailerons on sleek silver birds?
“Clean riveted verse far outshines archaic rhyme…”
I could answer that I have little choice but to prefer such
over airplane noise, that my heart laps from ancient steins
and shares old Bruegel’s love of the peasant line…
All this I confess and on my oath I’d shuck new weave
for stout old leather, steal a wench’s kiss and plunder art
from arcane cellars rather than bandy, sip, jive and toast…
I’ll ride a stallion while you fly snug-belted in coach.
Melvin Litton’s stories have appeared in Foliate Oak, Floyd County Moonshine, and First Intensity; with one forthcoming in Chiron Review. He has two published novels: Geminga, a man/raven fable concerning the Shining Path in Peru (III Publishing, 1993); and I, Joaquin, a fictional memoir of the Gold Rush bandit, Joaquin Murrieta, as told by his head encased in alcohol (Creative Arts Book Co., 2003) – both available in new editions from Crossroad Press. He is a retired carpenter and lives in Lawrence, KS with his wife Debra. He also writes and performs songs solo and with the Border Band: www.borderband.com