One Poem by Philip Butera

 

The Albatross with Muddy Feet

 

Persistent sleep 

suits me, 

the long relentless 

solitude. 

I am comfortable between a void and an abyss. 

Once the actor – 

adored by his image 

now, my reveries,  

hover above what’s abandoned.  

 

A battered collage of memories  

is an afterglow of pretence  

from a fall to elusive to alter.  

Nothing is ever  

as real 

as a nightmare 

in a stranger’s bed. 

 

The Albatross with muddy feet, 

though engaging, 

is little more than  

a lingering promise from an unremembered dream. 

His arrogance a recklessness– 

a hunger  

for an anticipated 

tryst. 

Grooming himself 

to impress a white Dove  

his weight drew him into 

the swells. 

 

Safe from hope, without desires,  

sleep is restful. 

Yet, at times, 

the warmth of being  

occupies my thoughts.  

The bird has disappeared. 

The setting has changed,  

but the tragedy, 

remains.

 

Philip Butera - Philip received his Masters's Degree in Psychology from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada. He has published four books of poetry, Mirror Images and Shards of Glass, Dark Images at Sea, I Never Finished Loving You, and Falls from Grace, Favor, and High Places. His fifth, Forever Was Never On My Mind, will be out Summer of 2023. Two novels, Caught Between (Which is also a 24 episodes Radio Drama Podcast https://wprnpublicradio.com/caught-between-teaser/)  and Art and Mystery: The Missing Poe Manuscript. His next novel, an erotic thriller, Far From Here, will be out Fall of 2023. One play, The Apparition. His current project is collaborating with a British photographer, a French artist, and an American graphic artist to produce a coffee table book in praise of Women. Philip also has a column in the quarterly magazine Per Niente. He enjoys all things artistic.