Observed Last Night at a Local Pub Just saw a man Grinding on a juke box In jacket and jeans And sandals with socks, Dipping and weaving Giving the best that he’s got. Having a Guinness or two My friend and I were discussing Gender identity Just a moment before This everyday Joe hit the […]
The Equivalent by Paul John Roach The equivalent of the wood in my head Is the wood on the hillside; The equivalent of the long ride, the green lane, the winding path, Is the dream that alerts us to the unimagined. The darkness beneath ferns Or under riverbanks Is like a closed shop of goods […]
Ways to Die by Paul John Roach -in memory of Virginia Woolf who committed suicide by drowning in the River Ouse. Introspection Self reflection Walking into the Ouse The polluted river Of the liver Soaking up the booze Consume it all Have a ball Nothing left to lose Slip away One summer’s day On a […]
5 a.m. Temple Service By Paul John Roach Waking up in the moist dark, Shaking off the desire to sleep, It’s up to dress without thinking And out, shuffling on the gravel path Through the trees Where birds are already singing, Into the glowing temple Where we will be singing too. Life wants willing participants […]
EVERYTHING FLOWS by Paul John Roach Everything flowsLight, rock, water and treeThe trash in the canAnd you and me.Never supposeWe are anything less than free.
COURAGE Concerning the recent attack on Leonid Volkov, a close ally of Alexei Navalny Out of an ostensibly ordinary day They came at him With hammers and tear gas, Working silently Like professional killers, But this time only to scare And intimidate, Banging his face and legs Into shock And blunted defiance. At any time […]