John Drudge (Western Voices 2023)

Bio: John is a social worker working in the field of disability management and holds degrees in social work, rehabilitation services, and psychology. He is the author of four books of poetry: March (2019), The Seasons of Us (2019), New Days (2020), and Fragments (2021). His work has appeared widely in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies internationally. John is also a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee and lives in Caledon Ontario, Canada with his wife and two children.


Waterlilies 

That day 
When we went to see 
The waterlilies 
In the French countryside 
And I watched the sun 
Dance across your face
For an instant 
On the bank 
Of the old pond 
As I brushed your skin 
Lightly 
Reaching for something 
Closer to art 
Than beauty 
When love was soft 
And slow 
Beneath the shade 
Of the apple boughs 
In the garden
***


A Night in Florence

Beauty
Humanity
And knowledge
A Renaissance
Of ideals
A new age of learning
In the winds 
Of change
Grand visions of progress
Under a new
Medici moon
And the elegant refinement
Of lurid need
In the Tuscan foothills
Carnality and sin
Pressing against flesh
As day turns to night 
With the deep undertones 
Of Florence 
Breathing
***


Dreams

As the night 
Changes
Far too fast
Dreams
Are the most floating sleep 
Of all
Gently they go
The trembling
The shaky
And the unsteady
As the woolly promise
Of tomorrow
Sings like a future
Encased in glass
***

1 comment :

We welcome your comments related to the article and the topic being discussed. We expect the comments to be courteous, and respectful of the author and other commenters. Setu reserves the right to moderate, remove or reject comments that contain foul language, insult, hatred, personal information or indicate bad intention. The views expressed in comments reflect those of the commenter, not the official views of the Setu editorial board. рдк्рд░рдХाрд╢िрдд рд░рдЪрдиा рд╕े рд╕рдо्рдмंрдзिрдд рд╢ाрд▓ीрди рд╕рдо्рд╡ाрдж рдХा рд╕्рд╡ाрдЧрдд рд╣ै।