[Here's the next of B.N.'s poems—please do enjoy!]
Soon, We Will Give In
The Commander says even if you think
it's God crouching on all fours—shoot him.
You practice entering a building
knowing that in the near future the ruin
will remember the house.
A student studying a great
text, you learn that love is like war
and war a case of amnesia—each an
argument against faith.
And so you turn away
from the open window, the street below
jingling like new money, and a heat that
never subsides, thinking that it would
have been better if you had two lives and
could start over in the next one
strong enough to have your own way.
Like a truck packed with explosives
the Commander says that:what the world
will take it will keep on taking.
A detonator, a timer, a fuse
we deepen into each other, knowing we
have entered that small, accidental
permanent company of one another.
B.N.
copyright to the author, 1983-2009
Wow, powerful piece. Amazing opening line.
ReplyDeleteOK. Wow. Just catching up with your blog and I have to say, reading your last few posts, that the cumulative effect is so healing for me. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYesterday's song and slide show made me cry - beautiful - and the poetry, today's and the Black Stone on Whie Snow - wow!
And finally I am so sorry about the loss of your friend and supporter Tom. May he fly high.
So grateful you're out here publishing your incredible magazine, John. THANK YOU!
Hi Willow & Reya
ReplyDeleteWillow: So glad you liked it. B.N. is a wonderful poet.
Reya: I'm glad RFBanjo could help you thru a rough stretch Reya--your support here is always so much appreciated.
It is a delightful mix of almost prosaic elements with lines that make you want to sit back and gently prod the words until the meaning emerges. Love it.
ReplyDeleteHi Alan: So glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying this poem - though I confess that I'm stuck on the second stanza, which I quite simply love.
ReplyDelete