9 Poems
On a Sunny Day
I was reading a book at the beach under a blue
umbrella when a young girl in a bikini passed
before me.
Be assured I stared not because she was half-naked
as would normally be my wont but because her skin
was highly defamed by a swarm of swirling tattoos.
There were black crosses, snarling red serpents,
and a mushroom cloud on her muscular thigh. Also
the words “bad bitch” scrolled across her tanned back.
She carried the death of science and reason like a patriot
wrapped in the flag. I felt stupid holding a book when
I should’ve been sharpening a blade.
After Another Slaughter
Over these fading footprints
a dream evaporates and slips
into flame, the fire fueled
by us, for we are the fire.
You wish with all your heart
and soul it wasn’t so but now
in the daily listing of destruction
you know it to be true. In the air
is the sadness of all of us who
have come before, who likewise
heeded no warnings and earnestly
kept the blaze raging. What is
next you know deep down no
matter how hard you turn away
from it: we are the fire burning
down the world, we are the flame.
This Wild Place
The sun continues its long
march to darkness,
technology earns praise
and addiction and cleverness
becomes a church. We’re
geniuses, the priests
of product shout in the
brief silences between
cannon fire, when the rock-
jawed reload with furious
conviction and the sun
burns on in a red sky.
Recommended for You
Magic Devoid of Voice
Breath rasping
in the middle-
of-the-night
in that mysterious
darkness, when
humans leave
the earth alone
for a moment
and magic devoid
of voice floods
the mind.
Perfectly still,
I listened, waiting
for a clue,
a sign of hope
as the wind
rushed over
an empty world.
White
Everyday I say my
silent thanks for
being born white
in this racist
slaughterhouse.
Where walking
to the store on
a sunny day
becomes a life
threatening event
if the wrong color,
where youngsters
grow up with terror
in their eyes, where
the law is murder,
where life is death.
Tell the Truth
Before the Pledge of Allegiance
at every school event tell the
children how we’re suffocating our
sacred living space because we’re
to lazy, pig-headed and greedy
to stop. Go on tell them. I dare you.
The Apple Watch
The herd moves through
the cold night, whips of
hard riders forcing them
on. What’s your excuse?
Privilege
Nail salon music
Meditative quiet
Smell of paint thinner
Asian eyes cast downward
memorial day
the war dead
useless dead
bones but
memorials
to madness
in every country
in timeless
hubris
the wing
of vultures
carrying forth
our name
death lovers
dancing
driving
having supper
with friends
and family,
laughter filling
the night
loving each
other loving
death
Paul Lojeski
