Charlie Theivagt
The rough gravel
and damaged grass
clung to his hair,
jeans and shirt
falling back
to their origins
like wishes randomly
granted by surly
half-hearted gods.
It was really
a delving into
some deep anthropology
some obscure sociology--
a physical exploration
with our hands
of something foreign,
unfamiliar, unknowable;
yet so palpable
that we had to mould
by the weight of our bodies
on his, and a rhythmic
pounding upon his chest.
Plumbing the
Darwinian origin of
Charlie’s quiet laughter
and gentle smile;
we searched with
third-grade fists
the certain source
of laughter
in those shining
black eyes that
revealed a soul
created to absorb
the blows.
We could not
create something new
out of Charlie;
we could not
discover the
source of the Nile;
the power of spells;
the alchemist’s dream;
or the visions
of religious zeal.
We did, however
discover the limits
in ourselves; the
limits of knowledge
and emotion to
understand or
absorb Charlie’s
quiet laughter,
his gentle smile
and dark
shining eyes.
Rose Lake
May 7, 2005
Greenfield Series
©2005 Charlie Theivagt — Joseph W. Yarbrough
Reproduction prohibited without written permission.
and damaged grass
clung to his hair,
jeans and shirt
falling back
to their origins
like wishes randomly
granted by surly
half-hearted gods.
It was really
a delving into
some deep anthropology
some obscure sociology--
a physical exploration
with our hands
of something foreign,
unfamiliar, unknowable;
yet so palpable
that we had to mould
by the weight of our bodies
on his, and a rhythmic
pounding upon his chest.
Plumbing the
Darwinian origin of
Charlie’s quiet laughter
and gentle smile;
we searched with
third-grade fists
the certain source
of laughter
in those shining
black eyes that
revealed a soul
created to absorb
the blows.
We could not
create something new
out of Charlie;
we could not
discover the
source of the Nile;
the power of spells;
the alchemist’s dream;
or the visions
of religious zeal.
We did, however
discover the limits
in ourselves; the
limits of knowledge
and emotion to
understand or
absorb Charlie’s
quiet laughter,
his gentle smile
and dark
shining eyes.
Rose Lake
May 7, 2005
Greenfield Series
©2005 Charlie Theivagt — Joseph W. Yarbrough
Reproduction prohibited without written permission.