Hart and Fox

A care free fox loping along the alley 

grins in recognition, acknowledgment 

to fellow prowler slinking home under cover

through sabled shadows. Dawn still a way 

away. Not yet the fresh picked indictment 

of a hart’s stealthy abandonment 

of harried commitments to stay the night 

unfolding before a morning’s raucous scrutiny.

Had he had better luck sweeping the somnial 

sheets clean of clues, accusation free

of having trespassed again on love’s 

hallowed grounds? From the prick 

of his ears I imagine he’s still pondering 

his choices, like me, spooling 

out the thread of possibilities to what 

might just fly under the radar. 

Ken e Bujold

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

Well, this creates quite the picture. A single man walking home in the alley sees a married man in the alley and smiles....knowing what the man has done and how he must get home soon. Will the wife know where the man has been? Will he concoct such a story that she will believe him? The possibilities....truly they are endless between the well written lines here. Choices....we all have them. I liked this one a lot. Lydi**

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks lydia. your review sums it up splendidly. choices indeed

ken

[Ken Simm.]

Complex and intelligent. A description of fanciful and yet real thoughts. This has a horror dreamlike quality. For me a bit like a dark Aesop fable.As well as an end of romance told love story of prey and hunter.

[Arundass TP]

Beautiful lines. Enjoyed your poem.

[W. Barrett Munn]

My thought is this has to do with Crane but I don’t know his story.

Winston

[Ken e Bujold]

no nothing to do with HC, though I am currently in early stages of one for him to add to the poets suite. This just straight line from having seen a fox one night awhile back on my nocturnal walk. Rest of it simple wordsmithing around theme and motif of bucks in heat and city streets.
Ken

[Soren]

This takes me down the rabbit hole but not as sly as a fox I'm not sure if I'm on solid ground. There seem so many meanings to be taken from this fable, nursery tale, metaphor, and on and on. The very reading or it tells of hidden meaning even it's cadence and word selection slide one along. The first hint was the interesting break between the first and second stanza "Dawn still a way" "Away." Also the play on words "Hart's stealthy abandonment" could a hart be a heart? Then the second interesting break between the second to the last and last stanza "From the prick" "of his ears" With the last hint "what might just fly under the radar" Was this old hart having an affair? or am I in the wrong rabbit hole?

[Ken e Bujold]

well Soren your review tells me this one works. the intention was to pock the landscape with a myriad of rabbit holes the reader could slide down.
not autobiographical, at least not at this stage of my life, but 30 yrs ago I was indeed by times the fox or the hart, or some might say both at one and the same time.
the genesis of poem was reading Ted Hughes, thinking of my own roguish days. How many nights ended only when others day's commenced.
and a bit of fun with how words can and ought to be played with

ken

[emmajoygreen]

There be quite a tale filtering throughout your poetic stream of comings and goings, sir. Could be romance riveted to mystery.. drama shadowing farce; which-whatever this play is worth studying! 'A care free fox loping along the alley - grins in recognition, acknowledgment - to fellow prowler slinking... ' Memorable!

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks em. yes i packed more than a few rabbit holes to explore

ken

[emmajoygreen]

Believe you, sir.