As a living ice block
January’s heart
cares for nothing
like Russian poets
lacking vodka or lovers
With the sky’s brutality
blackbirds are beaten back
to the arthritic trees
by a wintertide of cruelty
Snowmen are corpses
breaking from graves,
snowflakes swirling
like flies on death
I hear the bone-dead
feeding on iced roots
a hopeless hunger
for incomplete journeys
and the gates are shackled
the ground is hard
Death, an unfortunate freedom
Gumilev, Mandelshtam, Oleinikov …
O Russian poets
lacking vodka and lovers
O Russian poets
buried in ice blocks
O Russian poets
Dah’s seventh poetry collection is Something Else’s Thoughts (Transcendent Zero Press)
and his poems have been published by editors from the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Spain,
Singapore, Philippines, Poland, Australia, Africa, and India. He is a Pushcart Prize and
Best Of The Net nominee and the lead editor of the poetry critique group, The Lounge.
Dah's eighth book is forthcoming in November 2018 from Flutter Press.
www.dahlusion.wordpress.com
and his poems have been published by editors from the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Spain,
Singapore, Philippines, Poland, Australia, Africa, and India. He is a Pushcart Prize and
Best Of The Net nominee and the lead editor of the poetry critique group, The Lounge.
Dah's eighth book is forthcoming in November 2018 from Flutter Press.
www.dahlusion.wordpress.com
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Nice wordplay, I dig this.
ReplyDeleteThank you, J.D.
DeleteI'm happy that it resonates.
Cheers,
Dah
Remy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and for the "love".
Cheers,
Dah
Wow excellent poignant ink full of great imagery. I felt moved by the entire poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eva, for this wonderful critique.
DeleteI'm honored!
“January’s heart cares for nothing like Russian poets lacking vodka or lovers”
ReplyDeleteThat line grabbed me.
This is the kid of feedback writers love.
DeleteThank you, Graye, for reading, for this comment.
DAH
Sofia,
ReplyDeleteI'm honored by your visit.
Thank you for reading and for leaving this
encouraging comment.
DAH