Shall I Go Gently? by Lynn White

 

Sunsetting behind mountains in Chirbasa, Gangotri by Dhruv Mittal

First published in Light Journal, Finishing, September 2019

I’ve always been indecisive
and I’m still undecided
but soon
I will have to choose
whether to build my ship,
and furnish it
comfortably
and sail with you
gently
into the dark
into oblivion
gently
or to rage and fight
scratch and bite
kick and scream
so that you have to drag me
to where I will not follow
gently
into oblivion
into the darkness
the inevitability
of the end
whichever way I choose.

***

Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She was shortlisted in the Theatre Cloud 'War Poetry for Today' competition and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and a Rhysling Award. Find Lynn at: https://lynnwhitepoetry.blogspot.com and https://www.facebook.com/Lynn-White-Poetry-1603675983213077/

The Ex Files by John Grey

 

There’s something outside my window.
The shades are drawn
but I can see a shape, a wisp,  
a shadow on the glass.

There never were such sightings
when this bed was shared.
The world beyond the house
was as it should be.
Nothing coalesced into a face.
No eyes peeked in.

Most folks get the moon at night.
I suffer through a collage.
For isn’t that a strand of her hair?
Isn’t that silhouette
just crying out for her features?
She had a certain way of sauntering.
So does that starry outline
in the pane.

If only memory would stay in my head
where it belongs.
Why must it exist outside of me?
I could call on it when necessary.
Instead it shows up as it sees fit.

*****

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in New World Writing, North Dakota Quarterly and Lost Pilots. Latest books, ”Between Two Fires”, “Covert” and  “Memory Outside The Head” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in California Quarterly, Seventh Quarry, La Presa and Doubly Mad.