Away From the Flock, by Kenneth Johnson

Away From the Flock

I was taught to confront things you can’t avoid. 
Death’s one of those things.   
Damien Hirst
​
Stillness in a white room, 
people looking like they’re
remembering better days,
a white framed tank,
a display of life-death 
or absence of life,
suspended gravity, 
suspended innocence, 
suspended time,
vital yet breathless
preserved midstride,
away from the flock,
playing forever in 
a serene meadow of 
formaldehyde
on a bright spring day
where nothing matters,
if it ever mattered. What is it 
to reconcile the fear of death
with the acceptance of love?
Away from the flock, 
is it admiration or pity that
drives the question
Who is on display here?

Kenneth Johnson

Kenneth Johnson is a poet, visual artist, and educator living in Claremont, California. His work has appeared in The Diaspora/UC Berkeley, Talking River Review, San Antonio Review, and other publications. His poetry chapbook, Molten Muse, is forthcoming in 2024