August 26, 2015

Martin Willitts Jr. - On a Night Like This / Loss

On a Night like This

all the little pieces can go wrong.

We experience such wakefulness,
because of the disturbance.
Tension knocks on our door,
then children wake in a cold sweat
as the center of darkness
swallows them whole.

On a night like this,

enter at your own risk.
All of our problems are coming,
bringing their own dark music,
and you know its illness is your own.

Look away if you can.

It will not change this night.
Beneath pain is memory
a full moon ascending.
On an intense night like this,
tears are black stones.

Sometimes we can see ourselves

in this mirror crumbling
like certain dried-out leaves
and wonder, who has forgotten us?





Loss


I am still in that place of sadness

attentive to any sound returning

if I had known

the doors stayed open this long
I would have brought more words

more kindness


some people prefer quiet moments

of reflection

but there is more noise than I expected

emitting from the center of my heart
echoing out into the emptiness

for any return message.








Martin Willitts Jr is a retired Librarian living in Syracuse, New York. He was nominated for 11 Pushcart and 11 Best of the Net awards. He provided his hands-on workshop “How to Make Origami Haiku Jumping Frogs” at the 2012 Massachusetts Poetry Festival. Winner of the 2012 Big River Poetry Review’s William K. Hathaway Award ; co-winner of the 2013 Bill Holm Witness Poetry Contest; winner of the 2013 “Trees” Poetry Contest; winner of the 2014 Broadsided award; winner of the 2014 Dylan Thomas International Poetry Contest.


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