John Grey - Three Poems

 John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in Orbis, Dalhousie Review and Connecticut River Review. Latest book, “Leaves On Pages” is available through Amazon.

***

MY FALL

strange how

having freed myself of all weight

i have come back to earth

i expected

at least 

a trip to the clouds

the moon

or even the stars

but away went Sheila

off came the job

& i spat out family

like busted teeth

but i then dropped 

at twice the speed of gravity

hit the ground 

with a resounding

what next?

strange how

i picked myself up

& as far as i got

was only 5’11

***

WRITING MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY

i

was born 

in an attempt

to free myself 

from the entanglement

of an open bloody wound

to separate being

into yours & mine

trembling just enough

to inform my body parts

that i’d arrived

while clinging 

to whatever was near at hand

& doing everything I could

for the first time –

i filled birth to the brim

then spent the next sixth months

between warm expectation

& uncertainty 

taking life upon myself

while being little understood -

in case i remembered none of this

i meticulously took notes

***

NO GHOST

i don’t believe in ghosts

& even if i did

i wouldn’t believe in your ghost

as it

flits between rooms

up & down corridors

wails & moans

from afar 

& up close

the scenes you make

are never less than permanent

no wispiness

no see-through

so this is no ghost

& this is not you

what i’m seeing is not there

& even if it was

that wouldn’t justify

it being here