David McLansky Poems

Face down in a pool of blood
In some foreign field of rice
A forgotten human sacrifice

I didn’t as a man return
...

I writhe, I twist, I spin, I jerk,
As if my body's gone berserk
I tumble, spin, revolve, and twist,
With urgencies I can't resist;
...

I sing of the Hesperides,
Those lovely nymphs of yore,
Who tended carefully the trees
By Oceania's shores;
...

May you survive the coming year,
May you be free of doubts and fear
May few grey hairs snag in your comb
May no earthquake collapse your home;
...

Why must you treat me like the Dane,
Hamlet full of doubts,
You urge me on, you turn me off
I don’t know what you’re about;
...

The Sergeant at the high desk grunted
Looked down at her as if she was stunted,
“You say your Muse's been gone how long?
Your lady, you know, with the songs!
...

Prisoner and Guard,
Entombed we walk the yard
In our prison clothes
Oh the life that we have chose.
...

A soldier in a pointless war
Stands his watch, a useless chore,
There to guard, to hold the line
Of politicians drinking wine;
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I hear the children calling me,
Do I have a sweet to give?
Candy to delight their eyes
Surprised that they still live;
...

I'm warm,
I'm dry,
My stomach's fed;
I have a place
...