THE FOUGHT FOX by David Erdos

 

THE FOUGHT FOX

Hughes' Thought-Fox strayed here, but the city stains

Rushed to scar him. Hidden by day, this struck savage

Has been matted And marred by slick wind; the uncensored

Filth of the streets and the horror within the closed houses;

Images rom the harrow and the hollow at root in man's sin.

Bearer of burdens, this fox with its unloved snout smells

The poems which trickle now from exhaust pipes,

And from boredom's stink in the still of the evening's

Paused breath as we are yet to know what comes after,

Either the next breath or from danger as this sad and stricken

Beast hears blood spill. In Hughes' book it began his

Adventuring across the gods of the page and through nature;

Now, wild but weary the haunt in the fox's hounded stare

Shows what failed. The glow of the ghost Ted Hughes saw

Has become an unkempt dog on seized corners,

Howling for food and compassion just as the exiled

House dreamers will do as they turn and twist through

Torn tales. For this how the lonely return, with that

'stink of fox' roused within them. I smell it on myself

And lay fighting for the selfsame sanctity this beast

Sought. It is not night as I write, but the morning is as cold

As an evening. The fox is looking for home. I'm trapped in it.

But as his Bones are bared and his fur is flayed, the page

Opens. Death gathers itself on the street, spilling like ink,

Spread as shadow. Hughes imagines his fox at his window

While I lose rhyme to allow mine; two more urban victims,

Who imprisoned by air, love has fought.           

David Erdos August 29th 2020

For more poems from David Erdos visit The Corona Diaries collection 

David Erdos is an actor, writer, director with over 300 professional credits. He is a published poet, playwright, essayist and illustrator. He has lectured on all disciplines in theatre and film for leading performing arts colleges, schools and universities around the world. His books include EASY VERSES FOR DIFFICULT TIMES, THE SCAR ON THE CLOUD, OIL ON SILVER, NEWS FROM MARS, CHANGING PLACES WITH LIGHT (penniless press) and BYZANTIUM with the photographer Max Reeves. He is a contributing editor for The International Times and maker of documentaries all over the world. David’s work has been acclaimed by many leading figures including Harold Pinter, Heathcote Williams, Alan Moore, Andrew Kotting, Chris Petit and Iain Sinclair in whose recent book THE LAST LONDON, David features. He can be reached at David.erdos@sky.com.

David Erdos

©    David Erdos has asserted his moral rights as author of his work and has full copyright.