Thursday, May 5, 2022

N.W. Lea : Three poems

 

 

 

 

Small Nocturne 

The vestibule of experience
is not to be exalted into epic grandeur.

                                        
—Marriane Moore
 

 

Well then
who am I this severe clear night,

under the terrible near stars,

twiddling my epochal thumbs?

Who is the twister
and who the sycophant?

I alone love

to hate you in my shoes.
I take illogical delights

in this prideful style of shame;
 

it is my trademark,
my twinkling coat.

A dopey yoke.

So a typical postindustrial day
consists of this: filling yourself up

with the vacant world and emptying yourself

of life.

Why castigate this teary night,
this mix of things?

 

 

 

Three Half-Holy Half-Sonnets

1.

the body becomes
a state, a bruise, beautiful.

Poison against
poison;
I want for nothing special,

novel. Even my lies

despise you, contriver;

         
dose thinking.

 

2. 

this is haute propaganda!
my heart, hankerings.

A hyper-vigilant kid mothed

to his nightlight, his secret

anti-prayer, his fix.

Sound & light bring fame

         
and horror.

  

3.

the Real shrieks!
Or sits back and observes—

alien clinician. No!

careful Father,

scarified friend, standing

medicine
between trees.
         
“Nick, kill your clever nevers.”

 

 

Parasites


The sky is sour today.
 

          ~

It
sinks

into its own

chiffony belly.

I can feel it falling.

          ~

I’ve been treating these last few days
like night,

making mischief

instead of work.

          ~

At dusk,
when all the gauze clears,

and heaven

is free again,

the warm wood
glows

with Grace-light.
 

          ~

Sweetly, I prepare for war.

 

 

 

 

N.W. Lea is a poet living in Whitehorse, Yukon (also, his birthplace) with his supernal partner and their wild and beautiful daughter. Find his books at invisiblepublishing.com.

He has also published five chapbooks with above/ground press, including light years (2006), Present! (2014), Nervous System (2018), Five Mothers (2019) and Less Dream (2021). His next above/ground press title is forthcoming in 2022.