Poetry

The following two poems, “Lamp Post” and “17 Miles per Hour: North by Northwest,” were both published in the 2015 edition of The Mill (print). 

“Lamp Post”

I can see my feet

Cross each crack in the sidewalk

As the wind carries the light,

Scattering the darkness.

 

Shadows of barren branches

Laying patterns onto me,

Uneven checkerboard,

Squares of bright and night.

 

The metal pole, ridged,

Damp with dew,

Casting shadows.

Destroying blackness

Sends out glowing rays,

Warming what should be hollow.

 

I want to tell it to stop.

Let the moon bear down upon us.

With its crater man and

Borrowed beams.

Give the stars a chance to glimmer—

Their light has traveled so far

So long,

And still you won’t let me see.

 

Don’t burn any longer

Let time drift by in peace,

Let busy eyes rest,

Nothing to see here now.

Let the world be dark.

Let the night alone.

 

“17 Miles per Hour: North by Northwest”

Plopping drops,

Shaken loose from leafy beds,

Filling puddles.

Ripples rolling to their edges.

Laying damp, from gravity.

 

Chill of misty breeze

Nibbles on the skin,

Droplets gather,

And roll down,

Off fingertips.

 

The leaves clamor,

“Hush.”

In faintest howl of wild wind.

 

Golden streetlight sways,

On blades of busy grass.

Glinting stars blocked by

Churning clouds.

Leaves cling,

Heavy branches groan,

In the snap of gusts.

 

This set of eyes watches.

The sky brews,

Until a cracking bolt of light

Wakes the sleeping world.

 

Note: The author maintains the rights to both “Lamp Post” and “17 Miles per Hour: North by Northwest;” neither can  be reproduced in any form without the author’s permission.