Three Poems and two Haibun by Lara Dolphin

 

“Not, Not Pennsylvania’s Laureate”

Poor Sam Hazo, fellow Domer, sitting at your desk
trying to convince Wendell Berry to come to Pittsburgh–
did Naomi Shihab Nye and Gregory Peck give you such trouble?

Tom Ridge never said you were no longer top bard
no other poet challenged you for the title
although Peter Oresick does have a mean left hook

So what if your words are not state-sanctioned
promoted through official channels to citizens of the Commonwealth
possessing nothing but the authority of your own convictions

Show us a world of enlightenment and self-actualization
take back the mantle; transcendence is in your reach

You need no permission to advise the culture on meaning
no ceremony or pronouncement to speak truth
the imposters are those who will not be taught when knowledge presents itself
who dare not comment or explain lest they be found wanting




“Wikipedia Bronde And The Case Of The Missing Multiverse”

off the bus she staggers then smiles
tired from school
happy to see me
another day of fifth grade in the books

her unicorn backpack dumped
on the mudroom bench
her sneakers
kicked unceremoniously beneath

she raids the pantry for snacks
“Tell me about your day,” I say
they had specials: art, music, library and gym
a break from laptops and standardized tests

after dinner and homework
I read her a book
one of mine about a kid
named Leroy Brown

the pride of Idaville
he sleuthed petty crimes
ferreting out untruths
for only 25 cents per day (plus expenses)

she’s never used an encyclopaedia
I don’t get new math
do we understand one another’s lives?
probably the answer is no
but clues point toward
the Cromwellian possibility,
however slight,
that it may be so

“The Revanchist Lego Dragons of Cornwall”

  

scattered in the ocean
for a quarter of a century
they fed in the waters of the Atlantic
growing monstrous in size

birthed from the Whelps
they emerged
over jagged lurps and burps
seeking what was rightfully theirs

sailors, alert!
what was adrift has returned
strong-withered
to the wolds and the wealds

they will set the gorse ablaze
with their mighty breath
while Herring gulls
and Kittiwakes cry out

and furze pods shall open
dropping seeds
until all of Kernow
is both gone and made new 

Haibun

 

“Deep Time Meal” 

Maria Montessori sits for luncheon with a plate of spaghetti all'amatriciana, baptizes it with a sprinkling of extra cacio and decides that every bite will be 25 million years. She contemplates the grandness of Earth’s history mindfully winding one bundle of pasta then another. 184 mouthfuls later she is at the beginning of time.

 

The culinary

Clock resets to zero–there

Can only be hope

“Tree Of 40 Fruit Harvest” (a sijo)

Heirloom varieties hang together in harmony

from Skeena to Tiltons, Satsumas to Shiros and Panamints

till plucked from Frankenstein’s tree and baked into glorious pie

 

Lara Dolphin - A native of Pennsylvania, Lara Dolphin is an attorney, nurse, wife and mom of four amazing kids. Her first chapbook, In Search of The Wondrous Whole, was published by Alien Buddha Press. Her most recent chapbook, Chronicle of Lost Moments, is available from Dancing Girl Press.