Three Poems by J. B. Hogan

 

The Burden of Expectation

is not known at start, there are

games to play, joys to discover.

lessons to be learned

before the creeping shadow

of order and requirement

slowly spreads over all,

bit by bit stifling light,

freedom, unexpectation,

replacing all with demands

of order and requirement,

locked in path, direction, and

unassailable roles to fulfil.




The Illusion of Success



stems from tiny, insignificant

moments of victory, of winners

carried from field in delirium,

in unexpected praise of mentor,

in surprising trust and respect,

step by erratic step, building, growing,

becoming expected growth of

skill and prowess, moving

then, slow at times, level

by level attained, accepted,

yet always seeking one more,

larger, more profound, the one

just up ahead, beyond touch of

eternally grasping reach.

 



The Triumph of Failure



is a constant, daily dose of

reality, cause and effect,

weak point breached,

soft spot overrun,

one step forward, two back,

trickle to stream to flood,

shifting, changing bank,

steadily redirecting channel

each broken point,

each direction taken,

dumping detritus into the

deep slough of futility.

J. B. Hogan has been published in a number of journals including the Blue Lake Review, Crack the Spine, Copperfield Review, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Well Read Magazine, and Aphelion. His eleven books include Bar Harbor, Mexican Skies, Living Behind Time, Losing Cotton, and The Apostate. He lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas.