He Sat On An Ant Hill (For and Because of Charles) by Lois Kagan Mingus
Insects among the fruit. Black widow spiders.
Drippy faucets. Tomatoes.
The pretension of nationhood on a grand scale.
Nobody’s discussing.
Don’t think too deep. Don’t ask questions.
Yet he wouldn’t say “One nation under God.”
Perky breasts! Arm wrestling tummlers!
The most graceful mind, snowing pearls in every direction.
The work of the devil. Other people don’t have souls.
Acceptable facsimiles of what he thinks.
True memory or reconstructed what-you-wish?
This door is a Band-Aid!
And he’s gradually being drawn into the real world.
Toy boat. Little bunny rabbit.
The philosophers. The poets.
The point is
No tools are needed on the ant hill except your mind and your memory.
Lois Kagan Mingus has been a member of The Living Theatre since 1988, appearing in dozens of productions in New York, Europe and Latin America. Her work, Refugee Camp Shtima, received Honorable Mention in the Lamia Ink International One-Page Play Festival. She also is the co-founder of The Living Theatre Workshops. In 2004, she was a guest panelist at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum’s meeting in Minnesota. Lois is listed in Who’s Who in Entertainment in America.
Lois Kagan Mingus conjures up the most thought-provoking images and lures my mind to spaces I’ve never considered. How can the phrase, “…snowing pearls in every direction” not make one smile and want to repeat it over and over?
All of the elements that make the work of a poet look effortless are in her work — and that is the mark of a great poet. And a great thinker. Thanks for making me think along the way.
Your poem glows softly on the mind’s eye when read alone.
Read aloud it reverberates through anthropomorphic time,
Like a Mingus ‘Circle Painting’;
The clarion voice of visual verbiage … a oneness of symbol and image of loved ones in art.
KUDOS!
I love this poem. Lois’s voice, crystalline clear when one hears her speak, is heard and read equally as pristine and true.
Joanie Hieger Fritz Zosike
THis poem was as carefully crafted as it was thought-provoking!
Wonderful response, Matt. Thank you for reading Evergreen.
Truly high praise, Joanie. Thank you.
Rousing response, Ty. Thank you.
You’re welcome. Thank you for your kind words.