(This photo and accompanying poem were published by the Bozeman Tributary in October '08)
Holes in Buckets and Barrels
By Aaron Schultz
Traditionalists say
Barrels are more important than buckets
Post industrial versions of fig leaves
Hiding nakedness
Like graffiti on a wall or train
Modern version of pictographs
Telling the story of our culture
Non-traditionalists say
A bucket or a barrel
Or a womb or a coffin
Are all the same when we walk
into the dark of the unknown
Naked like the day we squeal hello
And the day we groan good bye
Each side passes judgment
Forever dancing with each other
Forever afraid the other has the lead
But the unknown haunts each coming step
And Gepetto is in the music
Standing on a barrel
Keeping the beat on a bucket
While our footprints become graffiti
Painting the darkness as it unravels around us
Famous quotes that should have been overheard about buckets:
“Something’s wrong with the moral fabric of the world when people wear buckets on their heads instead of barrels over their bodies.” Pat Roberts
“Buckets – building sand castles and protecting heads since 1899.” – Sears catalogue 1954
“Who needs thumbs when you have a bucket on your head.” – Walt Disney
“We were too poor to afford a real dunce hat so my younger brother had to wear a bucket.” – Pisbury Dough-Boy
“Helmet technology has come a long way since I was a kid.” – Evil Kenevil
“A spatula and a bucket is all you need for a good time.” – Ron Jeremy
