Homecoming King

It takes a few seconds to train spiders
to travel in my suitcase. I trust the bent
legs will protect me from ancestral 
pollens, suggest a design for my next tattoo.

I have faith piped in music will land 
this plane and the long horizon of farm folk
looking up will note our chem trail 
is shorthand for life passing by.

My brother, the Boy Scout, practices
welcoming flags like elbows in a 
crowd. Our homeland has rules 
about pirating arachnids, if I’m

caught, the consequence will stick
to my ribs like a dead fly. Belt, boots
notebooks lay flat for the xray. Fate 
extends a limb to test the surface.

— WILL SCHMIT

Will Schmit is a Midwestern folk poet transplanted to the Redwood forests of Northern California. Will has been performing and coaching poetry, in between bouts of learning to play the saxophone, for nearly forty years. Will’s most recent recording Fix My Car A Spoken Word Mythology is available for streaming at Spotify, iTunes, and at www.schmitbooks.com