Fred Whitehead is a Buffalo area poet who has had a blog at fewhitehead.wordpress.com since 2010. He is the author of 7 volumes of poetry. His latest, titled Luna, came out in March of 2016. He is also the host of Dog Ears 4th Friday Poetry Series at Dog Ears Bookstore & Cafe. In his spare time he publishes limited run chapbooks through his Destitute Press.

2 poems by Fred Whitehead

basket

long before
any thought was given
to composing my own requiem

the one that would eventually
end up
written on backs of Polaroids
& meant
to be played on instruments
left in corners
for no other reason
than circumstance

before all that
there were
summer mornings
that shone as crystal

broadcasting
gifts metaphysical
sweetly concealing
the concept of time

teaching me
proper construction of a dream
using one fascination at a time

a basket woven
just the right size

to carry me away

I pick up a jar labeled Future

I pick up a jar labeled Future
and give it a shake
as a child would
any gift
he thinks
is that
one thing
wished for

scarcity of self hangs by the door
always
by the door
not much good
against the rain
I shake the jar
again

then I use it
to keep my heavily edited itinerary from blowing away in the storm

I'll fill in spaces later
when I'm not
so tired
when light is better
when the wind stops
abusing the shutters

I'll correct my corrections
I'll shoulder my pack

I'll leave the door
open
behind
me