I'm like a pencil;
sometimes sharp,
most days
well-rounded,
other times
dull or
occasionally
broken.
Still I write.
j.g. lewis
is a writer/photographer in Toronto.
Month: April 2015
“Every good poem
asks a question,
and
every good poet
asks every question.”
– Dorianne Laux
This month is all about poetry.
Something new every day.
Posted on April 22, 2015 by j.g.lewisLeave a comment
I could warm milk on the stovetop, but that
would only leave a mess. Sometimes you don’t do
what you need to do, because it leaves
a mess. The day still stings, long gone now. It’s shadows
of commerce and confusion invariably run up
against ever-present fears. My heart is restless, doubting
all intelligence my head provides. My body rises,
on its own will, against tepid protest, returning
slowly to an empty kitchen. Six minutes
past three. It feels later. The clock denies. Laughter outside,
from wayward teenagers, scurries through the window.
I wonder how, in the past, I could sequester myself
from day-to-day cruelties. I wonder why I no longer
could, or was allowed to. Or why I let myself
express everything I felt or what I didn’t. The soul
recycles its madness, the night still the night, taking
on the tensions of a thunderstorm that will
never come. My body is weary, all of me is
weak. I am tired. Yet my fingers move, like this is
automatic, like this is what they should be doing. My
mind is all over the place, but my fingers are here. Words
appear, recounting, repeating, earnest thoughts of fears
splattered across the page. Sometimes you have to do
what you need to do. Even, if it leaves a mess.
©2014 j.g. lewis
Posted on April 21, 2015 by j.g.lewisLeave a comment
Ring It Loud
ring the bell for justice
let it chime for peace
ring it loud for friends at home
and people on the street
ring the bell for the soldiers
fighting for our lives
ring the bell for their girlfriends
their widows and the wives
ring the bell for show and tell
politicians strut each day
it’s all for show and has to go
don’t believe in what they say
ring the bell for the ones
in abject poverty
it’s not their choice how they live
it could be you and me
ring the bell for your church
if you think you must
better place the faith in yourself
and those you think you trust
ring the bell for power
the kind you’ll never know
it’s all indentured servitude
painful and it’s slow
ring the bell for passion
the kind you have in mind
it’s what you want or believe you need
just remember love is blind
ring the bell for your virtues
and the seven deadly sins
ring the bell for the dead
and their next of kin
ring the bell for secrets
the ones that bring surprise
ring the bell for what goes on
behind those troubled eyes
ring the bell for the love
the type you hope to find
ring the bell for the bigots
heal the evil mind
ring the bell for dancing
ring the bell at night
ring the bell to raise some hell
it’s time for feeling right
ring the bell this morning
when the light can let you see
ring the bell for someone else
don’t waste your ring on me
©2011 j.g.lewis
