February 2, 2016

Three Poems By JD DeHart: "Den", "Famine", "A Guide For The End"



JD DeHart is a writer and teacher.  His chapbook, The Truth About Snails, is available from RedDashboard.













Den

We move among stirring
images of deja vu.  This is where
we came to live again.

A small arrangement of dust
reminds us of our mortality.
We could sit here all day, dining
on the local lotus.

Fortunately, we have a mission
or we would otherwise sit down
in the den and get to know
all the other serpents.



Famine

Too close for comfort, the lack
of food in the pantry, makes me think
of drying crops

How one year the wind 
tasted like sand and smoke, how
we went hungry awhile

I knew what it was to have plenty, too,
mouths full of cream and pies, an eye
full of contentment, but the raven caw
was always inches away.


A Guide for the End 

Do not stray too close
to the open fires.  They are
there for a reason.  Once when
I was young - but that's another story.

Tell your stories to keep  you
warm and do not trust the people
with no teeth.  They bite harder than
you think.

Beware the place where they keep
animals in pens, especially if the pens
are empty.  It means hunger lives there.

Keep moving, above all keep moving,
but do so quietly, and just out of reach.
Speak softly but often.

~JD DeHart

Total Pageviews