Dwindling Knight and other Poetry by Michael Keshigian

DWINDLING KNIGHT

Life loomed large in childhood,

an acre, easily a mile,

the apple tree,

a spectacle of gigantic dimensions,

germinating fruit the size of melons

amid grass and wildflowers

higher than a house

and alive with as much mystery

as the imagination allowed,

infested with long legged creatures

and flying predators,

confronted by a brave soldier,

possessing stout heartiness,

armed with broken branch sword,

trash lid shield and brown bagged helmet gear

precisely slit for covert surveillance

against an enemy constantly plotting

to overthrow the king, to rule the kingdom,

were it not for the worthy defender

daily engaging danger to insure security

and safe passage for those nesting

within the domain,

though the threat diminished with passing years

as did the proportions

to a mediocre backyard,

displaying a frail fruit tree

in grass no taller than ankle height

with no visible reminders of intense conflicts.

The enemy had disappeared,

deployed, no doubt, to younger battlefields,

accompanied by the imagination

now desperately clinging to creative output

to preserve a degree of youthful enthusiasm

for an aging warrior.

Michael Keshigian’s seventh poetry chapbook, Wildflowers, was recently released this Fall 2011 by Flutter Press. He has been widely published in numerous national and international journals and appeared as feature writer in over a dozen publications. Recently, his collection of poems entitled Lunar Images, was set to music for Clarinet, Piano, and Narrator by Boston composer Dennis Leclaire and premiered at Del Mar College in Texas on November 5, 2010. A Boston premier took place on March 7, 2011 at the Berklee College of Music and a September 2011 performance occurred in Moleto, Italy. (michaelkeshigian.com)