by Rochelle Owens
Drawing a straight line in the air
a baldheaded pilgrim
from Belgium
singing ‘on the road again’
journeying to some sacred place
journeying to Santiago di Compostella
seeing dollars
drachmas euros francs liras
marks pesos pounds
renminibi shekels yen
singing ‘on the road again’
journeying to some sacred place
journeying to Santiago di Compostella
hitting the thrift stores
estate sales flea markets
remembering a woman
smashing herbs
with the side of a knife
singing ‘on the road again’
journeying to some sacred place
journeying to Santiago di Compostella
piled up sketches
the crucified one
the scourged martyrs
slapping flying insects
insects far and near
singing ‘on the road again’
journeying to some sacred place
journeying to Santiago di Compostella
debeaked chickens in cages
the tracks of wild ducks
slapping flying insects
insects far and near
dollars euros pesos
drachmas francs liras marks pounds
renminbi shekels yen
a baldheaded pilgrim from Belgium
singing ‘on the road again’
journeying to some sacred place
journeying to Santiago di Compostella
slapping flying insects
insects far and near
tracing his nerve endings
the roof of his skull
the shape of his brain
slapping flying insects insects far and near
like passionate lovers
thirsting for his sweat
dollars euros pesos
filling his money belt
sweet lucre under his heart
like an unborn babe
in its amniotic sac
a baldheaded pilgrim from Belgium
weeping praying
spiritual soul animal hole
spiritual hole animal soul
journeying to some sacred place
journeying to Santiago di Compostella
weeping praying
animal soul spiritual hole
animal hole spiritual soul
journeying to some sacred place
Rochelle Owens is the author of twenty books of poetry, plays, and fiction, the most recent of which are Solitary Workwoman, (Junction Press, 2011), Journey to Purity (Texture Press, 2009), and Plays by Rochelle Owens (Broadway Play Publishing, 2000). A pioneer in the experimental off-Broadway theatre movement and an internationally known innovative poet, she has received Village Voice Obie awards and honors from the New York Drama Critics Circle. Her plays have been presented worldwide and in festivals in Edinburgh, Avignon, Paris, and Berlin. Her play Futz, which is considered a classic of the American avant-garde theatre, was produced by Ellen Stewart at LaMama, directed by Tom O’Horgan and performed by the LaMama Troupe in 1967, and was made into a film in 1969. A French language production of Three Front was produced by France-Culture and broadcast on Radio France. She has been a participant in the Festival Franco-Anglais de Poésie, and has translated Liliane Atlan’s novel Les passants, The Passersby (Henry Holt, 1989). She has held fellowships from the NEA, Guggenheim, Rockefeller, and numerous other foundations. She has taught at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Oklahoma and held residencies at Brown and Southwestern Louisiana State. This is Rochelle Owens' twentieth New Verse News poem.
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