FIELD STUDY......................................................................................................................................................CHARLES S. CARR

Field Study

Poem by Charles S. Carr

1. E A G L E S written in vapors in the sky A dalliance of eagles overhead Midair clasping talons cart-wheeling down toward earth Chant of boos at the site of the purple-winged god of the north wind, 2. A procession of green double decker buses carrying the champs moves slowly up Broad Street A rage of joy screams people barricaded swarm the parade route, bearded player wearing a turban and Mummers costume dives into the crowd floats on raised arms 3. A few clutch urns of ancestral ashes Man wearing a jersey with number 99 circles in a ghost dance empties ashes on the edges of a park at Broad & Oregon 4. Elderly couple wearing fated team caps holds a sign 58 Years! The Curse Is Gone! Wings on everything Every shade of green expressing loyalty to the Champions The reflective glory on the back of jerseys: names numbers of their heroes The face of Nick Foles taped over the image of a saint 5. Two giant marble pylons open out to the Parkway to a roaring sea Boys huddled together standing on the shoulders of the sculpted soldiers on the Civil War Memorial A cap placed on the head of The Thinker at the Rodin Museum A ski cap on the head of George Washington at Eakin’s Oval, a boy riding side saddle Beer bottles stuck in branches decorate a tree in front of the Barnes 6. Go-go dancer swivels up a light pole spins with an outstretched hand to the crowd Two young men mud wrestle Another body surfs through another mud patch Cans of beer hurled at pole climbers Finally one reaches the summit, guzzles a beer, directs the chorus below in Fly Eagles Fly

Charles Carr was born in Philadelphia, educated at LaSalle and Bryn Mawr College, and has lived here his whole life. Charles was The Mad Poets Review’s 2007 First Prize Winner for his poem “Waiting To Come North” and has two published books of poetry: paradise, pennsylvania, (Cradle Press, 2009) and Haitian Mudpies & Other Poems (Moonstone Arts, 2012). For five years, Charles hosted the Moonstone Poetry series at Fergie’s Pub. Since 2016, he has hosted Philly Loves Poetry a monthly broadcast on Philly Cam. He has read poems in the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin, Ireland as part of the international project, 100 Thousand Poets For Peace.