Kenneth Pobo teaches English and Creative Writing at Widener University . His work can be read online at:
Forpoetry.com, Three Candles, 2River View, Stickman Review, Loch Raven Review, and elsewhere. Catch Ken's
radio show, "Obscure Oldies" from 6-8pm EST Saturdays at WDNR.com. His book, "Glass Garden", just came
out from Word Press and his online chapbook, "Crazy Cakes", can be accessed at http://scars.tv.
Forpoetry.com, Three Candles, 2River View, Stickman Review, Loch Raven Review, and elsewhere. Catch Ken's
radio show, "Obscure Oldies" from 6-8pm EST Saturdays at WDNR.com. His book, "Glass Garden", just came
out from Word Press and his online chapbook, "Crazy Cakes", can be accessed at http://scars.tv.
Walk in an Autumn Cemetery
The dead are so alive,
while we, the living,
stroke TVs and computers.
Not that I'd change places--
I'll have to soon enough.
Coffins cramp and cremation
sounds odd to a guy like me
who hates hot weather. But
a cemetery, calm and quiet,
why feel uneasy there? Epitaphs
reveal the dead more
than decades of words when
they lived--a smoker's epitaph:
I made an ash of myself.
Many dead have that insouciance.
The living have
situation comedies. As I walk,
cat maples sit still,
stretch and watch.
A red leaf
runs up like a message boy
with a telegram: You're next!
it reads. I start to run--
grass arms hold me in place.
The dead are so alive,
while we, the living,
stroke TVs and computers.
Not that I'd change places--
I'll have to soon enough.
Coffins cramp and cremation
sounds odd to a guy like me
who hates hot weather. But
a cemetery, calm and quiet,
why feel uneasy there? Epitaphs
reveal the dead more
than decades of words when
they lived--a smoker's epitaph:
I made an ash of myself.
Many dead have that insouciance.
The living have
situation comedies. As I walk,
cat maples sit still,
stretch and watch.
A red leaf
runs up like a message boy
with a telegram: You're next!
it reads. I start to run--
grass arms hold me in place.
Ken Pobo
Many Told Me Don't
whistle in a graveyard.
Bad luck? Hardly.
I whistle and out from
the ground come the dead.
To the nasty ones I say be gone
and they go. Edna
gives me her plum cake recipe.
Casey tells me of playing
whiffle ball. Pretty soon
we're all whistling,
the graveyard
the happiest
place in town.
whistle in a graveyard.
Bad luck? Hardly.
I whistle and out from
the ground come the dead.
To the nasty ones I say be gone
and they go. Edna
gives me her plum cake recipe.
Casey tells me of playing
whiffle ball. Pretty soon
we're all whistling,
the graveyard
the happiest
place in town.
Note from the Author:
"Walk in an Autumn Cemetery" can be
enhanced by listening to the Bee Gees
song "Don't Want To Live Inside Myself"
from 1971. "Many Told Me Don't" can be
enhanced by listening to "Whistle For
Happiness" by Peggy Lee. ~ Ken
"Walk in an Autumn Cemetery" can be
enhanced by listening to the Bee Gees
song "Don't Want To Live Inside Myself"
from 1971. "Many Told Me Don't" can be
enhanced by listening to "Whistle For
Happiness" by Peggy Lee. ~ Ken