john sweet, b 1968, still numbered among the living. A believer in writing as catharsis. An optimistic pessimist. Opposed to all organized religion and political parties. Avoids zealots and social media whenever possible. His latest collections include Approximate Wilderness (2016 Flutter Press) and Bastard Faith (2017 Scars Publications). All pertinent facts about his life are buried somewhere in his writing. ---------
further north, among strangers
this is the new greed and
it tastes familiar
this is the trailer on fire and
everyone left inside
the sound of music from a distance,
sound of wind down canyons,
down the deserts of city streets,
sound of confessions
of men who want to be guilty,
of cowards who want to be loved,
and this is me in a building of
glass, brick and steel
this is me with my teeth
filed down to points
listen
hatred is easy
grow up afraid
let your fear turn to anger
set the flame to the curtains
then walk out the door
three imposters, picking over the bones of christ
not a crown of thorns, but a
field of them stretching off to an
absence of hills
my father as an old man,
which is somewhere between a
vision and a lie
dead at 49 like a million other
minor gods and the fruit was
bitter and the rain all turned to ice
the sunlight was weightless
was blinding
but it offered no heat,
and the clouds were like threats
their shadows were like cancer
slow and unstoppable and
what wasn’t devoured
was forgotten
when we reached the city,
it was filled
with the sick and the dying
all any of us
could do was laugh
approaching zero
and then give me jesus
christ and then give me amnesia
and please keep all of my
fears a secret
don’t answer the phone
don’t wipe away the dust
sit still long enough and
everything you know will fall
down around you
this was my father’s plan
but then he died too soon
it was always winter
the pipes were always frozen
don’t believe in the age of
sunlight when you live at the
forest’s edge
don’t waste your life waiting for
time to move backwards
this morning in the bathroom
mirror, i am suddenly old