michael keshigian
STANZA FOR
SAL
The dog’s
grave smells of incense
and decaying
leaves,
a musky
overtone
above its
eternal resting place
highlighted
by a single ray
designated by
the sun
as a
condition of acknowledgement
which I see
through the window
beside my
desk.
Yet with
every sighting
of the
chocolate layered soil,
drying slowly
for three days
in a singular
warmth,
where the
ferns bend forward
in prayer and
the dog’s carefree
spirit still
plays in the shadows,
the halls of
my mind
unwind
another image,
a portrait of
my father
slowly
opening his eyes
from a deep
sleep
momentarily
ceasing the erratic snore
that
accompanied
the contorted
countenance
signaling his
eventual surrender
to the black
celled forces
beneath his
skin.
Blessed are
the animals,
for they
ignorantly depart.
Blown into
darkness, he hovered
with the
knowledge of extinction
upon a
precipice illuminated
by the sun’s
singular
yet dimming
direction.
Blessed are
the abandoned,
they shall be
guided.
MICHAEL
KESHIGIAN is the author of six poetry chapbooks. His poetry has been widely
published in numerous national and international journals, appearing as the
feature writer for The Aurorean, Poetree Magazine, Chantarelle’s Notebook,
Bellowing Ark, Pegasus Review, The Illogical Muse, interviewed by Boston
Literary Magazine (bostonliterarymagazine.com/Fall2007 Spotlight) and Reader’s
Choice in the Fairfield Review. Recently, his collection of poems entitled Lunar
Images, was set to music for Clarinet, Piano, and Narrator by Boston composer
Dennis Leclaire and premiered at Del Mar College in Texas on November 5, 2010.
A Boston premier took place on March 7, 2011 at the Berklee College of Music. (michaelkeshigian.com)