An Ode to James Dickey from Shane Dickie
To honour one’s predecessors,
Is deserving & kind,
Especially ones of the same name
So fine,
James Dickey writes 'Deliverance’
A masterpiece to be sure,
Shane Dickie is a fan forevermore,
James Dickie’s poetry highlights
The rough & tumble of life
At the turn of the 18th century,
Where poverty & homelessness,
Was seen with little empathy,
His stories show the vulnerbility,
The hopeless with startling vignetta,
To live by one’s own wits,
To struggle in rags to eat grits,
In James Dickey’s work,
The reader gain a sense of excitement
The rascal jumps off the page,
The animal of society he brings
The hero is no owner of glamorous bling,
The wilderness the unforgiving
The untamed the human
wretchedness the frailty... is all there
Of society & life,
James Dickey wrote it all bare,
I am just a spectator,
A humble gazer of his might,
To read James Dickey,
Is not a light read but
Rewarding the soul it will feed.
