John Perrault
Culprit
for Robert Dunn
Admit it Robert—
you have aided and abetted life,
you and your tiny pen.
Every time you scratch a line
seeds of affirmation fall
from that skinny outstretched hand.
You, my friend, stand guilty
of sowing hearts with hope
by those little books of yours—
of spreading consciousness.
The evidence continues to mount.
You will not escape our judgment.
John Perrault is the author of Jefferson’s Dream, (Hobblebush Books, 2009); Here Comes the Old Man Now, (Oyster River Press, 2005); The Ballad of Louis Wagner, (Peter Randall, 2003) and 9 CDs of his ballads and songs. He was a co-recipient of the Rosalie Boyle/Norma Farber Award, from the New England Poetry Club in 2008 and was nominated for a Pushcart in 2016 by Mobius: The Journal of Social Change. He has had recent work in Orbis (UK), The Comstock Review, Commonweal Magazine, SpoKe and Innisfree Poetry Journal. John served as Portsmouth, NH, poet laureate 2003-2005.