A blazing hat, a tattooed heart, he walks through the crowd alone
Today was going to be a good day, but now the sky is green
and everyone is speaking a new language
Whitebone orb over the merriment, his clothing reeks of sadness
Too late for the releasing of doves, or for happy farewells
when strangers wear blinders and greet shadows
The newest tattoo reads “poet”, which may as well read “isolation”
The simmering stew of vaguely familiar faces in plots of earth
waiting for burial, or arrival, or knowledge
These are the days of broken-down carnivals and fly-away balloons
The days when your face is not in the crowd, not anywhere at all
when sidewalks crack like spines, and eggs, and minds
Ronald is a self-taught writer and visual artist who has lived with major depression all of his life. He currently resides in Rockford, Illinois, and has been published in Wordsmiths Magazine, Grawlix Poetry, and Taft College’s ‘A Sharp Piece of Awesome.’ Ronald has also self published two volumes of poetry and a collection of short stories through Lulu Press. He blogs at http://ronraylit.wordpress.com and shows new work at http://bark.deviantart.com.
Turtle Way 