Me And Saint Francis by Bruce Michael Foley

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ME AND SAINT FRANCIS

for a homeless heroin addict friend, and his dog, Saint Francis

Drifting in a dream
I thought I saw you,
dancing with Cagney
in the red, white and blue,
a real gone doodle-dandy
your voice sang out stone free;
“Independence is coming!”
They say it’s coming real soon.
Free bag of chips with a soda,
it’s all over the news.
Politicians break promises
we run for the glue,
so, I got me a stray dog
with the kennel cough blues.
He barks at their lies,
then begs for the truth.
I named him, Saint Francis.
What else could I do?
He’s humble, kind, forever forgiving.
There’s love in his eyes, that weep
for the dead and shine for the living.
No man knows a better friend,
more reliable than a cat, a crutch
or a Cub Scout den –
More trustworthy than
those talking heads on television
who banter bullshit, again and again,
“Independence is coming!”
They say, it’s coming real soon,
but I’m tired of waiting,
playing the fool –
I’ll trade today’s sun
for tonight’s full moon,
go hitch a ride on the clouds
with a needle and spoon –
just me and Saint Francis,
James Cagney and you,
real gone doodle-dandies
in the red, white and blue.

Tribute to an old friend, a heroin addict who lives, at the moment anyway, on the streets of Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA., with his dog – Saint Francis.

indexI was born across the bridge from Boston, Massachusetts, in Cambridge, as July 4th fireworks exploded over the Charles River, just a stone’s throw from Harvard University. At age two, my family moved to Somerville, Ma.,where I was raised in a rough blue-collar environment, playing many sports. In 1998 I relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada. Here, I work among special needs children and teach martial arts. Poetry began in high school, but took off in a more dedicated way in later years, along with resuming music studies, guitar. My poems are published in various anthologies; including Impressions, Prism, and the Mighty Voices Of Thunder Series, sponsored by the international poetry website, “Allpoetry.” I was a featured poet in Lyrical Somerville February 2015, a Boston based publication, as well as being an “Editor’s Front Page Pick,” for the month of March 2016 on Allpoetry. A defining moment that contributed significantly to further interest in writing was a First Place Award from the International Poetry Fellowship, for my poem, “Among Fields of Cotton.” Presently, I am happy to have the opportunity to explore various forms of poetry with Mr. Bruce Isaacson, Poet Laureate of Clark County Nevada.

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