Five Wonderful Poems by John Drudge

 

A Late Night Walk

 

I walk the cobbled stones

Of late night quiet

With the moon

Beating down

Onto sleepy streets

And the rain trailing off

Into a gentle mist

The glow of streetlights  

And the aura

Of my burning

Ring around everything

As I long for new beginnings

And silently escape

Into the city’s

Indifference

Answers in Arles

 

He grew tired

Of the long nights

Of uncertainty

And the deep pockets

Of sadness

He sometimes fell into

When things became

Too quiet

He was growing weary

Of the journey

Day after day

Plunging into it

Under the bright yellow sun

Into the maw of frequencies

And the fields of swaying gold

Beyond the steady drum beat

Of the mistral’s angry winds

Diminished by time

And frenzied change

Leaning

Into the slacking wind

And knowing

How the story ended

Now

Backwoods

 

Into the tranquil woods

Where meaning is found

In small moments

Where thoughts scatter

Into fragments of light

And cascading shadows

Cross a bruised

Softened gloom

Bespoken of endings

And new beginnings

From incremental

Diminishment

To rebirth

In the deep underbrush

Of age

Where hope is sometimes

Found and forsaken

And where death

Once touched me

And I was calm

 

Daybreak

 

I remember once

In Paris

When the rain

Was hard and cold

And we walked

Along the river

In the early morning fog

To the small café

On Rue St. Jacques

For a hot breakfast

And then waited

In the warmth

Of the propane heaters

Under the yellow awning

Nursing café crèmes

As the clouds began to break

Under weightless winter light

And a new day unfolded

Before us

Into the Dappled Light

 

The taste of seduction

The surprise of first times

Caution and compassion

Luxuries

In the face of deeper need

To devour and be devoured

In the way things

Should be

Flavours

Textures

Aromas

Beyond the fear of losing

One’s self

Satisfying

Unexpressed thirsts

In the dappled light

Of morning

 

John Drudge is a social worker working in the field of disability management and holds degrees in social work, rehabilitation services, and psychology.  He is the author of three books of poetry: “March” and “The Seasons of Us” (both published in 2019) and New Days (published in 2020). His work has appeared widely in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies internationally. John is also a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee and lives in Caledon Ontario, Canada with his wife and two children.