David McLansky Poems

After the first Child's Death
There was no dying;
God looked down
His soul bereft
...

If there be no God
Then man is scum,
Fungus on a rock
Floating in the drift of space,
...

What perfection in eye and cheek,
She shifts her body, I cannot speak,
Her back's soft light of muscled bone
That I would frame in marble stone;
...

Does kindness shown incur no debt?
You blame your words, you were upset;
You've cursed the hand that fed you food
And excused your acts by your foul mood;
...

A Pounding at the Gate (14)

There rose a drumming at the gate, 

Importunate, the sound of Fate; 

It caused a stirring in the yard, 

...

As I stumble into darkness
Death has lost its empty starkness,
Just a little dopamine
Has given back its Hippie dreams;
...

Just wait until I sober up
You take me when I'm in my cups
Then I'll unleash my rational mind,
You attack me when I'm drunk and blind.
...

Speak not of love, my love long-winded,
Lest in your rant, your grant's rescinded,
And for all my patience to this duress,
I'd lose my chance to squeeze your breast.
...

The Prioress Reflects (8)

How many years I've viewed this scene:
The snow-capped hills melt into green,
...

Make not a virtue of suicide
The pain of life is something to be borne,
It can be blunted, desperately denied
Even on The Cross when shorn of pride;
...