Commonwealth

Tonight speaks well enough

The dimple crowns walls in well regard

Wax mannequins morph

And the crocodile’s charge to

The hook in a linguist’s spell-

Windows slit their starry packs

Ghostly in the beam and crackle

Where she crawls over post and beam

Where I watch impatiently

And the Hills of white not yet asleep,

Poised like Spanish moss fingering the fourth floor easement

My mind struggling as a bitten wing

Strung and stirring in burdens of sidewalk-angels below

God capitulates his ear to this graffiti in the three am

"Yes!", I toll

"Lazarus IS among us"

His body charred eternal in the dark timbered sea

Sermonizing

Unapologetic

He clamps the jungle eyes down to a faint and concrete roar

Firing tired incendiaries  over

bar to bar rapport

 

The sparks tangle into glass and ashtray

As I cough punctuation out like hotel wet-spots

I’ll waste no time in understanding this country

No time in kindling the madness of whim or veil

All but these children crumble to clay,

Ah, but tonight the city forgives

Plucks and clamors the acidic air

Round on well and dry

 

And again the mossy wings slip

Night evaporates into sweet simplicity

 

The hands telling morning is near

Morning as

Some call it Richmond-

"River scent capital"

"The boxcar's rusty jowl"...

 

The bones below flutter her brow and

The depot that has come to terms with war

Heeds the heartache we make here tonight

The dust of every night

Recoils to a length of stay

 

But maybe this city holds a scripture

Her orphans coupled hands clung tightly round

And maybe this is the paradise

The last stop

The last prayer "

The Midnight’s ode

On the river James

Reviews

[luna rose]

this poem is incredible and makes me entirely too emotional as i personally struggle with this dichotomous pull between utter apathy and utter devastation/heartbreak. its all too much.

thank you for your sharing your art & mind, friend.

[Perdition]

Beautiful review and thank you so much for the kind words and for sharing them as well.