AFTER TET AND THE SUMMER OF LOVE

50 YEARS LATER, AFTER THE SUMMER OF LOVE,

AFTER TET, AFTER HE CAME OUT, SUMMER OF 68

He kept his head low,

and he had nothing to do

but get to Karen

working the letters--

practical dreaming isolated.

How did this uniform happen?

Why did he keep his stripes hidden

in rolled up sleeves?

What was that about?

When he came home

he found all the teachers.

Everyone of them.

That answers part of every question.

                                                                                           

Among the books and records

he found something else.

In an odd little paperback,

on a remaindered shelf.

Don't let yourself get promoted.

Dress in such a way

every time out of the house,

something's not quite fit.

Even with hair.

Stay clear of the Windsor Knot.

Now he had practiced this

for 50 years. Jubilee.

It had nothing to do with God

unless God had all everything.

It had to do with walk, with breath.

Jim Bodeen

25 May--2 June 2017