JOHNMICHAEL SIMON POETRY

the only word I can hear
feel, see, taste smell or touch
it fills the sky
a dark cloud
it wipes the smile of the sun
off the face of heaven
forever
all other words
wither, die
or seek shelter

words flung in a storm

 

o God turn the clock back
turn the clock back
the clock back
one small revolution
to the place before
betrayal
inconceivable
blackened its face

 

the words are
falling over
on their faces
an endless row of dominoes
black backs crumpling
to the horizon
and beyond
a roaring that never
ceases

 

now the rain comes
forty days
pounding betrayal
betrayal, betrayal

until betrayal itself
is swallowed up
in the rising water

 

then, as the water recedes
and land appears
I see your body
drowned, limp, lifeless
next to hers
and other words emerge
to greet a new damp world