Last Novena

The manhood

of a nation

marching in the breeze

Chasing what

the dead have wrought

taunting its reprieve

Caught within the voices

of forgotten

yesterdays

The winds of war

but nine days off

— as mothers kneel to pray

(Dreamsleep: May, 2024)

Plus One

Remembering

what you want to say

Forgetting

what you don’t

A writer’s choice

is zero sum

You will

until you won’t

Considering

that time well spent

Brings on

its just desserts

Consciousness

the poet’s form

Twice forward

— once reversed

(Dreamsleep: May, 2024)