when Ginsberg put the O in Howl

I was nearly 6 years old
a wild nature boy
growing up on a backwoods Kentucky farm

when Allen Ginsberg put the O in Howl
the earth’s magnetic poles shifted
the tectonic plates collided
there were earthquakes and volcanoes
the Ohio River flowed backwards

when Allen Ginsberg put the O in Howl
business men ripped off their neck ties
housewives swallowed amphetamines
Joseph McCarthy started drinking himself to death
J Edgar Hoover secretly put on his pink tutu and danced
Anne Sexton had her 2nd manic episode
and was encouraged by her therapist
to take up poetry

when Allen Ginsberg put the O in Howl
outsiders got stoned
outlaws wailed and moaned for man
when Allen Ginsberg put the O in Howl

Ron Whitehead
October 7, 2015