DIVINE
by John Raffetto
A LATE FATE
Seas fossilize into parched buttes
trapped shellfish
anthropoids in dark matter.
Time did not freeze
as massive ice ball
and volcanoes
merge into passive resistance
push and pull
on earth axis.
The bacteria count is one.
A joke of cosmic proportions,
life is a stunning pool of
bombarded asteroid
ice
melting eons
upon eons
until the surf is up
the sun is down
and sulfur tide pools
froze hominoids in their tracks.
Enough is enough
when will the party begin?
STRANGERS AGAIN
Incredible lovers suddenly depart to become strangers again
highway of the future becomes the wind chimes of nostalgia
a terror of silent rain is deafening over a quiet breath.
An overhead fan rotates in the moonscape sky,
lucid dreams float above and beyond a rattled night.
I favor the allure of night in pure silence
with an eye cocked toward night pleasures
in early morning haze.
There are no nightmares
when you keep your eyes open
no dreams either,
to become strangers again.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The perch in Lake Michigan
are using anti-depressants.
Don't forget the lonely Spotted Owl
addicted to xanex
as they find shelter
in Pacific Coast pulpwood.
Then there is the howler monkey
who prefers natural St. John's Wort
to soothe jangled nerves.
Yes the list is long.
The only way out is
out,
pushed from fragmented habitats,
an exodus
to a zoo
as human botany
observes
iphone in hand
a selfie
deleted
of natural history
a cry
in a mounted museum.
COLLAGE OF UNCERTAIN POETS
You lay in your last sleep
death is a memory of rivers with no names
a system of ghosts
open the curtains of your being
death passes us
the voice of the last cricket
last fingers of a leaf
a street whose name and number has been erased
before you became a cloud.
It's the metallic hour
night feels tight as a jar
watery night creatures
criss-cross
erratic complicated shape
diamond spheres
fury of your memory
from loneliness I sleep when will the night end.
Float above envelope full of organ's rosy music
ear tuned in early to hear beneath call to end
the brain's shooting gallery
after punishment is done with me
teeth slam against each other
excellence in a knife throw
the murkiness of
tomorrow watches us all day.
I sat at the cold
applauding wind
I am on a parapet looking down
what are the habits of paradise
crime of nostalgia
passion is molten
just wait a while the water will run dear.
DIVINE
A comedy?
Inferno
Dark fraudulent night
sleepless shadows
resonate gray masks
colorless voyage into circles of fury
no sunrise nor treacherous sunset
alone by the toxic river
only to return the next day.
Purgatorio
Bland hungry terrace
splashed face of proudly departed
a wrathful detour from humble madness
invisible to impassive crowds
a short breath
climbing
beleaguered from flight
only to return the next day.
Paradiso
Vacant stars in night sky
a full moon
winds of hope
contemplate
the mystery
where knowledge wisely departs
planets evolve and expand
into the sweet abyss of days
only to return
to mystery the next day.
About the Author:
John Raffetto is a lifelong resident of Chicago. Some of his poetry has been published in print and various online magazine such as Gloom Cupboard, Wilderness House, BlazeVox, Literary Orphans, Olentangy Review & Exact Change. Nominated for Pushcart Prize 2017. Holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Northeastern Illinois University. Worked as a horticulturalist and landscape designer for many years at the Chicago Park District which was a rich environment for drawing inspiration for poems concerning nature, people and the city. Currently a adjunct professor at Triton College. |
