hunger by John Sweet

sitting in a sunfilled room out west
waiting for christ and whatever
excuses he might bring, and i can’t
shake this recurring dream of
my oldest son’s death

can’t get warm with all of
this poison in my veins

can’t smile without bleeding, can’t
sleep without remembering and
i refuse to let the past exist solely in the past

and what did you do when there was
no one there to kiss the
frost from your fingertips?

how much of your life did you waste
sleeping in the spaces between
the houses of your old lovers?

feels good rolling in the filth and
the dirt for a little while,
but then it’s time to grow up

it’s time to drive west and to
find the room you will grow old in

it’s time to stop dreaming

John Sweet (noun), b. 1968, date of death as yet determined. alternatively confused and confusing. opposed to all organized religions and political ideologies. a major believer in writing as catharsis. recent collections include CONTINUUM (Kendra Steiner Editions) and IN THE PALACE OF DYING LIGHT (Ten Pages Press). A new collection currently in the works, will hopefully see the light of the day before the end of 2011.

Photo by Adam Lawrence.
Street artist unknown.

That Ghost is Ryan Schmale, and he just released his latest album "Songs Out Here."