A-TEN-SHUN!

by Leah Shelleda


Turn it on     turn it on
you’ll see
a million chicks beaks wide open
for crying out loud
a guy says his kid’s been carried off by a silver balloon
says it so he can ride a magic carpet
and the 24-7 follows nothing into the empty sky
this boy didn’t fly too close to the sun no wingmelt
but its still Daedalus and Icarus
scheming to leave the earth to ride
not rise not rise up not hitching genius
to the largest cart that holds the many not like
Prometheus who felt for us stole dad’s fire
got nailed for it
Turn it on
a million chicks beaks wide open
tell us nothing happened


Leah Shelleda is Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Philosophy at the College of Marin. Her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies, and her chapbook, A Flash of Angel, was recently published by Blue Light Press.
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