And a Pot Belly Laugh Poem, by Melvin James, at My poetic side

and a pot belly laugh

with a sweet taste of mustard

shall ride the plough of land of sea

three miles afar

at god's own speed

and pay no heed more glorious than death.

the fat of the land

the water and the bible

three brides of equal temperament

each with steady hands

will sow each seed

and pay no heed more glorious that death.

in this dour age of concrete steel and rage

under a saltmarsh sky

each wound now packed with glycerine and soil

for all who shall remain

taller than a scaffold to the stars

bring praise for the naked warriors retreat.

and he who has no soul

no eyes to see the glow worms as they spark

their bed of grapes for the water and the heart

the flood of spring

married to the drowning calf

to walk no more the red clay of his love.

and he who has no mothers milk

will drink again the waters of the heart

while the meadows, caged and quarantined

all blood is theirs

too many sounded things

to walk no more the red clay of his love.

at gods own speed

we pay no heed more glorious than death;

Comments +

sorenbarrett January 27th, 2026 17:23
With many biblical images this poem speaks as a revelation and warning to those that will hear. Nicely crafted Melvin
Teddy.15 January 28th, 2026 03:15
I feel a strong sense of using our lives to live whilst we can. A great London saying I will always keep is (you're a longtime dead) maybe we should focus on the beauty instead of the negative. Melvin my dear friend, you got me reflecting. Poetic and beautiful. 🌹
Tristan Robert Lange January 28th, 2026 10:50
Melvin, this is dense, unsettling, and fiercely embodied. Land, water, faith, and flesh are braided until none can be separated without damage. The poem doesn’t explain its vision…it performs it. Powerful, my friend. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦‍⬛

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And a Pot Belly Laugh