A New Voice
A strange new voice
In between worlds
Among the old gods
Where we look
In two directions
For the truth
Split into beginnings
And endings
And the tumultuous
Curving
Of inner space
Fast asleep in our urges
Awakened only
By the double edged gift
Of serenity’s
Breathing
Brambles
Parables
Behind darkened windows
Shades pulled down
Over shame
To begin
Where we must always
Begin
Mired in the confusion
Of regrettable birth
And the wild brambles
Of messy growth
From seed
To wilted flower
In the fractured sun
Crawling over
Honed silence
And spilling into pools
Of lost reflections
With faces melting
Into regretful slumber
Before the sun rises
On our sins
Into the
Machine
Suspended
As we fall
With our dreams
Forgotten
The essence of sound
And touch
Mercilessly squeezed
By the machine
Into prisms
Of stretched light
With waxen looks
Stifling sight
And sense
And locked in a rhythm
Of strained hope
Where the truth
Of freedom
Is twisted
Into an alchemy
Of fear
And disbelief
Loss
Into the deep
Black spaces
Between loss
And emptiness
Gaps in sensation
And rifts through time
Toward an infinitude
Beyond logic
And the shiny blades
Of memory
Trimmed to a point
And steeled against
The crashing cleaver
Of truth
On the
Horizon
Simple and clear
Full of light and joy
In time’s good graces
In the aftermath
Of fear
A breath of fresh
Tranquility
High art
And a renaissance
Of sculpted relief
With broken stones
Beneath broken feet
Marking the path
Toward absolution
And the shaky birth
Of enduring grace
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 four books of poetry:
“March” (2019), “The Seasons of Us” (2019), New Days (2020), and Fragments
(2021). 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment