Mudman
By Robert Keiser


Mudman comes in a dream.
Smoke in winter winds is all I crave,
But the snow chrome knob singes. I walk,
And the moon depraves, CRUNCH,
Mulching its white beam next to a barren
Tree. Mudman claws from muck.
Pores seethe tar in wicked shine,
Says to me, Respect and cleanliness
Consume the world, while poets and questioners
Are forced into the muddeep. They cringe,
Afraid to gasp air, because respectable men,
Vile beings, will surely hunt them down
And label them crazy.
Mudman splotches mud onto my gaping eyes,
Wiping the mud, I come to find, Mudman
Leaving prints on my linoleum tiles.
Mudman has something to tell me.
He knows I want smoke, harsh smoke,
Muck, vice, grime, and mud.
I follow Mudman into the pantry,
But respectable men surround,
With suits and rolled sleeves.
Pernicious lights fluoresce my eyes.
Mudman begs to return to past times.
LUDICROUS! Respectable men scream.
WASH YOURSELF CLEAN OF MUD.
FORGET YOUR DREAMS!
Respectable men, perplexed, rub sharp
Chins and grit grinding teeth.
Who is this repulsive Mudman? From what sewer
Did he creep? He will ruin our game,
And tell the world about the poets and questioners
Who lie beneath. HURRY! GRAB THE TOILETRIES!
WE WILL LAVISH THIS CREATURE WITH SOAP
UNTIL EYES BLEED! So respectable men bristle
Steel rags over his mud face, robbing
Precious mud. Mudman succumbs
Bubbling a shout:
FUCK YOU AND YOUR CLEAN WORLD.
YOU MIGHT AS WELL BURY ME!
Respectable men stand back, crossing arms
across puffed chests,
As wicked laughter rushes from hanging lips.
Stunned, Mudman looks through himself.
The linoleum gleams
Mudman squirms
Jelly fish body across the floor.
MY MUDD!
He swings open the heavy door.
Into the blazing moon. He squeezes
His body back into the womb of earth
And muffles a call.
Know the mysteries of the Muddeep.
Forget your clean world.
Follow me.


- - -
My name is Robert Keiser. I study fiction and poetry at the
University of Pittsburgh.