FIVE POEMS

Since April is National Poetry Month, here are five poems from my in-progress chapbook, Babylon in Flight.


BABYLON

I feel
the tides within me
pull toward mysteries.

I see
angels drown
in the river as they flock
to drink from holy grails,
taste the metal on their lips
amidst the rustle of wings.

I hear
circus sounds
just over the razor edge
of the distant horizon,
sunset a long, low orange.

I see
ghosts dance alone
on their own tombstones,
crumbled in weeds.

I see
civilization's walls
destroyed by passions,
heat of bodies twined.

I feel
time collect like dust
on ruins of what was,
shiver in desert air.

I see
gateways
to the gods' confusion,
locked in centuries of rust.

I feel
the tides within us,
and mysteries of you.



DIDDY WA DIDDY

flights
of inconsequential fantasy

season
our simmer of discontent


I await our resurrection
in an old clock’s ticking works
with oil on my hands like blood

outside,
soul of humanity folds upon itself
like a patchwork quilt packed away

I sleep on the stones of memories,
turning
like an old clock’s hands
lurch
together twice a day



MARS

as my mind wanders,
sleepless:

a crescent moon comes
silently
through the window
with the cold winter air

I take the moon in my mouth;
it tastes of silver


I await
the hawk of Mars,
the owl,
the peacock

in this drama
behind the red ceramic mask



RISING STAR

the owl calls,
coyotes stir early,
hungry for the hunt

as the first star rises
on a moonlit evening
a light brown apple moth
sees the light
and its philosophy
begins to levitate
toward inevitable truth

the second star
also rises,
or simply pops through the night,
tiny with distance

the moth becomes
confused, uncertain
in the night’s chill



TOADSUCK

the sorcerer's scones
rot

in the presence
of foul, swampy, damp, bad taste

little white ravens, self-important,
peep from under the bridge:
the short prayers
of magical incantation
slash morning air

the sun,
summoned,
begins to teach the day
heat and humidity


we languish, awaiting darkness


(Nathan Hamilton wrote: “Dark is good, we must embrace it, I think. It seems the healthiest option.”)