by Alan Bern
Fear
That evening we talked about reason
gutted and quartered:
a sharp jab in a fragile fruit
pulp ripped and pit cracked
knife whetted with each thrust
prisoner to repetition.
We talked about ethnic cleansing
washing words till the flesh falls off
only a pile of bones to mark the spot
hates? I wondered,
could they be so barbaric:
devouring hands or eyes, whole bodies?
There are patterns, you said,
patterns that can’t be broken,
like breathing.
But reason, neither good nor bad,
slides down the alley:
you can breathe through your pores
sometimes through your ears.
A scrub brush rubbed against open wounds
burns the cleansing word into muscle
sponges soaking up words
wash our ears. What do we hear?
We’re all so safe you said
puzzling over misshapen pieces
with hidden answers
even our dogs eat well, our cats have bells
our lives shift into fifth gear
It is all far away
it is here
nameless and out of mind
in the places we do not visit
night or day:
ethnic cleansing
in the home of easy outrage.
We are on edge, I said,
a sharp edge that has cut us all:
grass fires look like armies
and fire cleanses.
Where are we now? you asked.
In one small room, sealed tight,
prepared to breathe through our pores.
R I Miller lives in Maine. He has published work in: Glint Literary Journal, Book of Matches, and Literally Stories among other journals. He has also published a novel, The Touch of Bark, the Feel of Stone.
Retired children’s librarian Alan Bern received an MA in Creative Writing from Boston University studying with poet Anne Sexton and classicist Donald Carne-Ross. Alan is a Pushcart nominee and has published three books of poetry and a hybrid fictionalized memoir, IN THE PACE OF THE PATH, UnCollected Press, 2023. Recent awards include: Longlist, The Bedford Competition (2023); Winner, Saw Palm Poetry Contest (2022). Recent/upcoming writing and photo work include: Third Street Review, EcoTheo Review, Thanatos, The Hyacinth Review, DarkWinter, Feral, Porridge Magazine, and Mercurius. Alan performs with dancer/choreographer Lucinda Weaver as PACES: dance & poetry fit to the space, is a published/exhibited photographer, and runs a fine press/publisher with artist/printer Robert Woods, Lines & Faces: linesandfaces.com. https://www.instagram.com/abobern/ https://twitter.com/AlanBern1/https://www.facebook.com/alan.bern.1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-bern-6b19448/