Six Poems by John Drudge

 

Art - Days [ ) Escape | Søren Kierkegaard - C o c o s s e

A Radical Socialism 

 

Working the land 

For the common good 

Not every socialism 

Is the same 

Kindness 

Is a social act 

Courtesy 

A tenet of the tame 

Good bread 

Enough for the village 

Potatoes 

Wine and onions 

From the fields 

Where the breeze  

And the new wheat  

Touch tomorrow 

And a path 

To the future 

Remains

Smile 

 

Individual journeys 

All of us 

Indescribable rides 

The subjectivity 

Of true selves 

Unique in dimension 

Kierkegaard 

And the mark of the beast 

Beyond the authenticity 

Of wisdom 

Squandered 

On a smile

Pure 

 

Boiling it down 

Always 

And not spreading it 

Too thin 

Getting to the heart 

Of it all 

Marching along 

The strict lines 

Of abiding 

To the truest  

Forms 

Of our rounding

Lost Summer  

 

Through 

The quiet storm 

Of green grass 

Over rolling hills 

Forever dreaming 

And driving deep  

Into memories 

And the fresh breezes 

Of newly formed  

Mornings 

Where nothing  

Is finished 

And everything  

Needs a saviour 

Wayward  

And insecure 

Like a lost tear 

In the first silent summer 

Of love’s regret

New Light 

 

Realities 

Running parallel 

An egress 

To worlds 

Both old and new 

A note across oceans 

Sends hearts 

On winds 

Of endless flutter 

New beaches 

On new shores 

With each day eager 

To taste new light

Morning in France 

 

With the buzzing 

Of the morning 

And the sunlight 

Through the window 

Of the old farm house 

In the long countryside 

Birds in the trees 

In the garden 

And the sound  

Of a simple nature 

Surrounding 

As she stirred 

And settled back 

Into the softness 

Of gentle dreams 

And the warmth 

Of the beauty 

Around her

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 seven books of poetry: “March” (2019), “The Seasons of Us” (2019), New Days (2020), Fragments (2021), A Long Walk (2023), A Curious Art (2024) and Sojourns (2024) . His work has appeared widely in 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.