Sunday, May 21, 2006

these next to poems are by a friend and fellow poet
philip johnson. if you are a regular reader i'm sure
you'll recall philip's work.he was a guest poet on my
blog and his work has been featured here more than
once and his short poems are by far
some of the best around. philip lives
in england and is recuperating from some nasty surgery.
even tho he is in the process of guest editing "transparent words"
he has been writing a few poems of
his own centering on his recent experiences.

i have found that some of the best poetry i've read has come
about from godforsaken trials and pains. writers, most
especially poets, seem to be able to take these and
craft them into things that shine and touch most all in a
very personal way. i was pleased that philip
let me post these poems.consider each carefully . the
impact, the sort of gallows humor yet the strength of the
human spirit is evident in each. s





they gave me a comical chemical


speckled against the washed white walls
silver sparks from around the bed rails

fall onto a glittering fairy drip stand

here and there a cluster of red plastic bags dangle
on the morphine

to see the other chaps with their heads rested upon starched pillows

as if displayed in a butchers shop
showcase

so casual

the way in which I accepted it
come to this

so easily

me to be meat for the pie crust filler
my residue off to the glue factory

post op dawn.









was it me made the wicked laugh

( a post op reflection )?


when I rose to shave
the corpse I saw grin from the washroom mirror
mocked me

but for the surgeons

almost become
me.






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