Brad Liening
Epic Epilogue
We burned golden fat
and peered at columns of smoke
for signs we knew were there
our king declared victory
was at hand on a black beach
we burned our dead
we were thanked
we were given a Pepsi
a single gooey fish
held up to the sky
a single gooey army
gone up in a column of prayer
years later we return
to our children building
baffling apps in the end
the sea surged over our cities
and our golden jailers
were unmoved
Jacobean Repeater
Reform the countryside
it will all end in tears
the dead stretch within us
tall on their horses
lit by the magic glow
of their everlasting comms
stack them end to end
they’d reach to the far side
of the dark garrets
O endless equivocators
Eclogue
You can hear
the city growing
broker
steeling itself
for promises
the parade
soldiering on
leaving then
coming back
still it’s not
the worst place
for love
there are
a few yellow
leaves on trees
a few friends
by the bar dark
with hope
the worn floor
littered with meat
raffle ticket
stubs
We burned golden fat
and peered at columns of smoke
for signs we knew were there
our king declared victory
was at hand on a black beach
we burned our dead
we were thanked
we were given a Pepsi
a single gooey fish
held up to the sky
a single gooey army
gone up in a column of prayer
years later we return
to our children building
baffling apps in the end
the sea surged over our cities
and our golden jailers
were unmoved
Jacobean Repeater
Reform the countryside
it will all end in tears
the dead stretch within us
tall on their horses
lit by the magic glow
of their everlasting comms
stack them end to end
they’d reach to the far side
of the dark garrets
O endless equivocators
Eclogue
You can hear
the city growing
broker
steeling itself
for promises
the parade
soldiering on
leaving then
coming back
still it’s not
the worst place
for love
there are
a few yellow
leaves on trees
a few friends
by the bar dark
with hope
the worn floor
littered with meat
raffle ticket
stubs
© Copyright Brad Liening 2019