Suburbian Poem by Wayne Russell

The yellow caution

tape surrounds

freshly laid concrete

like a crime scene.

Birds chirping their

upbeat symphony,

only the occasional

caw of the raven, brings 

this cruel world to a halt.

Alas, that too is temporary.

The marrow of my

bones eventually thaw,

as the work at hand

continues.

Tap tap tap, the poem

slowly takes form. 

The birds wave the

baton of madness,

life's symphony continues. 

The tapping upon keys,

slowly chugging along,

decrepit as a bedraggled

train. 

.

My thoughts too, are

struggling with age

and arteritis.

Depression is an

omnipresent cloud

that never fully dissipates.

The beer is a mask to

hide behind, it numbs 

the woes of worthlessness. 

Tap tap tap, the poem has

come to an abrupt halt, the

whistling has stifled into

another round of completion.

Three bone chilling caws,

ring out like shots fired across

the rickety bow of a clipper.

Copious flowers sway helplessly

in the breeze, the grass is emerald 

and merciless today.

   

Wayne Russell has been many things during his lifetime, he has been a creative writer, world traveler, graphic designer, former soldier, and former sailor.

Wayne has been widely published in both online and hard-copy creative writing magazines. From 2016-17 he founded and edited the now-defunct online creative writing magazine, Degenerate Literature.

In late 2018, the editors at Ariel Chart nominated Wayne for his first Pushcart Prize, in addition; Wayne was nominated for Best of the Net via the editor at The Abyss.

In 2020, Wayne had his debut paperback book of poetry published by Guerrilla Genesis Press; Where Angels Fear is available for purchase on Amazon.