Mantis 20 (Spring 2022)
a poem lost, a poem found:
the poetry of kevin bennett
A Poem Lost
A poem lost is a
Chubby cheeked child
Staggering thoughtful steps
In a laughing dance
With the ocean of
Memory, before I can catch
Him the waves have
Lured him deeper
His arms, chubby flags
Waving laughter to the sky
I must chase a
Gull down the sands of
Consciousness, leaving
Poem-child to play
When returning with
Handfuls of sand
Ears full of mocking
Bird-laughter, my eyes grope
The waveless non-committal
Ocean that just throws my frown Back at blue eyes
There! Beyond the bar
A swirl vortexing fin
Oh, I can feel the wickedly
Curving teeth of forgetfulness
Caressing chubby arms
In the hungry dark
As it sharks its hateful way
Into the black
Depths of my sea-soul
KEVIN LEE BENNETT (Stanford class of ’90) is a writer and poet living in the French Quarter of New Orleans. While at Stanford, Kevin was the recipient of the University and College Poets Prize from the Academy of American Poets. After graduating, Kevin spent a number of years back in his home state of Michigan as a management consultant for companies like Dow Chemical and then as a technical writer in Milwaukee. Eventually the siren call of his beloved New Orleans and his dream of becoming a writer brought him there where he continued writing and working. However, in 2006, not long after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc in New Orleans, Kevin went missing. His friends, including his best friend and fellow ’90 alum John K. Coyle kept searching for years and then more than a decade. Then, 13 years later a surprise message from a stranger led to Kevin’s re-discovery, hidden in plain sight living on the streets of New Orleans. With the help of his friends and generous support from alumni, Kevin is now living a writer’s existence housed in the heart of the French Quarter. His frst book of poetry will be released in 2022. His journey was the cover story of STANFORD Magazine’s July 2021 issue.