Four Poems by Dan Provost

 

A Toast

 

He kept his head

down as the doctor

called him in to provide

the number of days

left…

 

Now, he needs to buy

a proper suit to be buried in.

 

Long friendships formed

in nameless towns.  Stranded

lifers—granted a minute of civility.

 

Few words mumbled along trapped

streets, smiles

that froze away after the prognosis is

told.

 

A few weeks remaining, a handshake then

a bottle passed around…

 

Each sip, raised to mark

The

End

Of

Time.

 

 

Don’t Use the Word Death

 

There were no

          blankets where

he chose to lay down.

 

So, the end came soon.

 

Forgotten, in the cold.

 

He has dismantled himself…

Back to the silence… 

 

 

Forced Symbols

Strange,

seeing mannequin arms,

legs, hands, feet--struggling

to stay afloat in the monstrous

Atlantic Ocean.

 

Like narrative life.

Hoping for culprits to

survive—

 

Or connect with

                   a time

                   a place

to comfortably

fail—trying to converse.

 

 

Rock is Dead, Long Live Rock—1973

More than sixty years ago, when

the rain, sleet & wind soaked your seersucker

you purchased the day before.

 

Right, Pete?

 

In ’73, you recalled your

youth through a boy named

Jimmy, the mod who also flirted

with the weather elements. Driving

himself wild with uppers, bi-polar

depression, and a popular rock band

that was big with his crowd, the Who.

 

Rock wasn’t dead,

then.

 

Back to 1973, when Quadrophenia

was released, and that kid was portrayed

on a four-sided rock opera, the band went

on tour.

 

The opening act was a bunch of rednecks

from Jacksonville, Florida, who had 20

minutes to perform.  Their final song had

the band flirting with legendary status.

 

Moon, that beautiful drunken

drummer, was too inebriated for

most of the tour to play.

 

But you survived Pete.

You survived.

 

Still living to tell the

Story about Dr. Jimmy &

Mr. Jim & how that

adolescent child fought

His internal battles from side

One to four.

 

Rock was dead

They said.

Long Live Rock!!!

Amen…

Dan Provost’s poetry has been published both online and in print since 1993. He is the author of 17 books/ chapbooks, including Getting Your Bell Rung released by Luchador Press, in June 2025. Notes From the Other Side of the Bed was published by A Thin Slice of Anxiety Press also in 2025. His work has been nominated for The Best of the Net three times, and he has read his poetry throughout the United States. He lives in Keene, New Hampshire with his wife Laura, and dog Bella.