having learned nothing by John Sweet

having learned nothing

 

                          for dave kelly

 

 

was lying on the couch in an

empty room in an empty house when

the power went out, and I could

hear where the rain was

leaking in

 

I could hear the ticking of the

clock on the wall above me

 

had things to say, but

there was no one there to say them to

 

had points to make

 

had opinions to defend

 

could hear a siren getting closer

& felt my way to the window

 

saw the ambulance stop across the

street a few houses down, and I

had no idea who anyone in

this neighborhood was

 

wished the best for them

in my own small way

John Sweet sends greeting from the rural wastelands of upstate New York.  He is a firm believer in writing as catharsis, and in the need to continuously search for an unattainable and constantly evolving absolute truth. His latest collection is APPROXIMATE WILDERNESS (2016 Flutter Press).

approximate wilderness by John Sweet

approximate wilderness by John Sweet "These are (mostly recent) poems that have grown out of the landscape of rural and small town upstate New Y...