|
Poetry lovers, today I have another treat for you here at SHINE, with work by Oregon-based poet, Jack Cooper. Please enjoy two of his evocative free verse poems: "Smoke" and "Outside of Time." Thank you, Jack, for sharing your gift of words with SHINE online series! SmokeI woke up in primal suspension alone with the rising and falling of my breath as if before a great crying out even outside a still quiet moment nothing on the go nothing on the make as if the world were stuck at a crossroads the forest on pause in its bargain with the elements smoke from the fires capturing the light in folds like bread dough before the yeast dies in an explosion of significance Outside of TimeIf the Sun and Moon should ever doubt they'd immediately go out – William Blake I don’t doubt travel into deep space will only happen outside of time like in a dream or an illusion it won’t be real as we think of it but metaconscious a sense of other presences Time ties us to age and decay to linearity to distinctions between then and now and when It keeps us Earthbound rational and full of doubt am I good enough will I succeed will we ever get there I don’t doubt time is an illusion like wishes like fears like art you can do anything you can imagine with it You can take time spend time and give time find time waste time and do time You can be on time and get time off The thing about an illusion is that it becomes all too real given enough time I see her in my mind as if it were today Her smile could take you to the ends of the Earth just the way the moon can  Jack Cooper is the author of the poetry collection Across My Silence (World Audience, Inc., 2007). His poetry has appeared in bosque, ABQ Inprint, Rattle and many other journals. Cooper was the Grand Prize Winner in Crosswinds Poetry Journal’s 2016 poetry contest, and his work has been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize. His poem, "Elm in Dirt with Bird," has been anthologized in Earth Song, published by T. S. Poetry Press, NY, 2022. In 2023, Eco-Justice Press published his first children’s book, Silly Lily’s Rhyming Adventures in Nature, with artist Greta Gonzalez.
Comments are closed.
|
SHINE - International Poetry Series
From the international poetry community, we have a "luxury of stars," as Sylvia Plath might say, and it is my honor to provide a home for their words through SHINE Poetry Series.
NOW IN PRINT!
Stars Over the Dordogne
|
