Richard Fox has contributed poems to both online and print literary journals. “Swagger & Remorse,” his first book of poems, was published in 2007. While drinking his favorite ginger ale soda, he is simultaneously working on several collections of sound poetry and soundscapes, which are being made available online at Bandcamp: https://richardfox.bandcamp.com/ He holds a BFA in Photography from Temple University, Philadelphia, and lives in Boise, ID.
RIVER, BAPTIZE ME
RICHARD FOX
Before I die, & brutal time has stopped,
I will walk the north bank of the river, & dip
myself like a cruet into the current to gather
what the river was, & to relinquish what I am.
On days when I am spoken through, the ven-
triloquy of beauty is very nearly everywhere,
& I will ask the river to think about how it will
release my body, & if it will weigh me down,
since my sins have only so much weight to spare.
I will pony up for the laying-on of hands;
I will belly up to the bar & order what I wish;
I will be brought what I wish, but it will not
be meant for me.