His Reticence

--for Eleni

Rain has been falling
All night, love,

So softly
I wanted to tell you,

I wanted to tell you
Forgive me,

You were sleeping so
Peacefully.

Disclosure

"I would love to be a word in a Zambaras poem."
--William Michaelian

Lovely being

a word in a poem
enclosed in a bottle

opened by one
you love.

Widow at Window; Witness

Photo taken in Kastoria, Northern Greece, 1974; poem written 34 years later--even if I hadn't taken the photograph, the image of this old woman looking wistfully out her window down at the foot traffic passing below her window would have remained indelibly in my memory.

Definitely Not Lemmings #9

I'd like to thank Drew Kunz for following this blog; an accomplished artist, writer and editor, you can read more about Drew here and check out his webpage here.

Witness

The ancient house emptied,
shuttered against the light;

on the wallpapered wall
of the study,

the gilt-edged portrait
of the dutiful young wife;

to the right of the picture,
the old widow's window,

framed for life.

(First published in Two Review 2009)

Attic Black-Figured Loutrophoros, Early 5th Century

After the mourners finish,

(The chin-strap fixes
The jaw shut),

Another black hole opens.

(First published in Arabesques Review, v.2, issue 4)

The Presentiment

Verily we feel
Our bones shall follow

The wake,
To wake

In the dark
Of the morrow,

To find the glow-
Worm's glimmer,

Its spineless undulating underbelly
Underpinning

Our very marrow.


(First published in Kater Murr's Press)