The August Second Featured Poet is John Frazee
Please feel free to email John at: johnfrazeexxx@yahoo.com
DANTE’S TIGHTROPE
No one said it was easy, we all have our moments
There are tough times when we seek out others for strength
When you’re called upon, do you rise to the occasion?
When required, are you willing to go to any length?
Can you swear innocence on the soul of a loved one?
Can you recall one act of compassion without thinking?
Can you feel love in your heart for those who have wronged you?
Can you look yourself square in the eye without blinking?
Life is difficult, as you well know but please beware
This path you find yourself on is a slippery slope
You still have time to change and seek the straight and narrow
Mark my words, we all end up here on Dante’s tightrope
PLATE TECTONICS
The earth gets restless and feels a need for a change
The restlessness reveals itself in many ways
There’s shifting, trembling, vibrations on a grand scale
It tries to warn us, the rumbling goes on for days
It was here before us and will be here after
When deciding to move it shows indifference
You’ll discover there is no malice aforethought
The earth cares not about her current residents
This has been going on now for four billion years
Plate tectonics is routinely taught in grade school
Yet always comes as a shock, this can’t happen to us
It’s simply what she does; it’s not unjust or cruel
In defiance we settle in places we ought not
We build on fault lines and on an ever changing shore
Place cities in the shadow of great volcanoes
With arrogance, her warnings we chose to ignore
A PERSONAL ASCENSION
One day turns into another, they all start to look the same
I am finding it harder to see the forest for the trees
The inevitable results are already etched in stone
And all these habits I once nurtured, have brought me to my knees
Ignoring them came easy, I was sure they would go away
These problems I was facing were worthy of my attention
I couldn’t imagine myself ever reaching a lower point
And thus I embarked upon my own personal ascension
The path down is always smooth and easy, no bumps no bruises
The road back, that’s another story, the slope is much steeper
The sooner your journey home begins, the better off you’ll be
The slope continues to increase, when your descent goes deeper
I see things through child like eyes as if for the very first time
Step by step, I rise through my past and the air seems clearer
Closer and closer, finally leaving all falsehoods behind
The apex is in sight as my personal goals grow nearer
John Frazee resides in Boynton Beach, Florida (temporarily). He also resides under the impression, that like the infinite number of monkeys at the infinite number of type-writers, someday he will accidentally create something worthwhile. He relies on you humans to evaluate the results of this experiment.
John has been published in Skyline Magazine, OMNI magazine, The Horror Zine, Twice the Terror: The Horror Zine Anthology, Death Head Grin Anthology, My Word Wizard, Aphelion, StoryMania, and The Original Van Gogh’s Ear.