Napoleon in St. Helena by Mike James

I.

No symphony as fine as cannon fire

II.

Nightly dream of horses falling, hundreds of brown horses

III.

Maps of Europe, Egyptian coins…mementos

IV.

My jailers call me general, this is not a palace

V.

America will never be my home

VI.

Memoirs…deeds dictated…so many words on this dry island of sand and sand

VII.

My empire…my army…Josephine

Mike James makes his home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He has published in hundreds of magazines, large and small, and has performed his poetry at universities and other venues throughout the country. He has published over 20 collections and has served as visiting professor at the University of Maine, Fort Kent. His recent new and selected poems, Portable Light: Poems 1991-2021, was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His last collection, Back Alley Saints at the Tiki Bar, was published in April by Redhawk. He currently serves as the Poet Laureate of Murfreesboro, TN.