Keeping her safe

As the sea rise with the global warm
The villages grow skyward? 
Tall and wind-ridden? but away

From iron grab of angry ocean.
The vulnerable woman we neglected.
Memory of yester years, dreaming

To go back to her
Of yester years. Is it too late?
Why not keep her safe now?

*

unbelieving or selfishness
everywhere signs of global warming
but smokestacks still emit CO2


©Byung A. Fallgren



 
   

in some Assuming

once been a fiction writer, some think 
her poems are lies, with horror and thrill and all.
"It must be some fiction trying to..." they'd jeer.

She smiles then shudder at the imprudence
of it, then with pity, jokes, "Probably you are
right." then shrugs. Nevertheless,

she examines her poetry; sees it as true and 
hurried as the impatient dame herself.
only needs to morph more.

"Assume all you might," she whispers them, "but
know that, in doing so, you lose your empathy
and quality of word; what a waste. 

"That's how we lost each other, long ago,
on the green hill, on a balmy, dazed day.
what follows: years of tossing at night in doubt."


(c) Byung A. Fallgren


 

The Mother and Daughter, like lunar eclipse

The daughter who is born writer
doesn't write and tells her mom to write,
like the mom used to tell her. Now,
her mom has become the daughter's youthhood.
She's the daughter is the mom is the daughter...
the mom would do it for the daughter,
like the daughter should've done it for the mom;

they are two in one.
Who would've guessed it?
Not the Earth, nor the moon. 


(c) Byung A. Fallgren

Anticipation

magpies
hover over
the ash
as a homeless man 
waits for good news


Attraction

in the pile 
of wrapping papers
and old ornaments
a terry bear
still sings



(c)Byung A. Fallgren

Lines Written During my Second Pandemic
Eduardo Corral

All water flows toward loneliness.
Loneliness is a black eye, a gleaming pit,
we have yet to split loneliness like an atom.
Loneliness arrives on a leash of scorpions.
In my scull, loneliness opens like a parachute.

It's illegal to chain loneliness to a fence.
Flickers tunnel though loneliness to build nests

I sprinkle a spoon of sugar over loneliness.
In some languages, loneliness is imperfect.
Antlers crown the bald head of loneliness.
Like rough trade, loneliness won it kiss you.
Loneliness crouched in a tree afraid of dirt.

In the dark, loneness ripens too quickly.
Beneath the roof of loneliness, my blood drifts.


Eduardo C. Corral is the son of Mexican immigrants, the author of
Guillotine (Gray wolf Press, 2020), his work has been supported 
by fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation and the 
Lannan Foundation. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.  

 

The Lesson on the Trail

The brilliant red leaves of the shrub
shrugs off the snow, like a stubborn child
of Mother tucks it under the blanket.

the lodgepoles in the white coat 
toss the snows at the passerby, as if warning.
Feeling it, I turn my head but see none,
not even him; move along the trail, indulging in
the peace. yet hear a sound in the no sound,
feel an eye in the no eye zone.
there, it groans; I turn back and meet it.

the mountain lion on the boulder on the slope,
hungry, fierce eyes. I froze, then slowly 
pick up the big stick, mistake. It jumps off
the boulder and slinks toward me.

toward...the hare playing a statue.
I run to the car, inside it, I see 
the beast chases the hare into the 
dense woods that whisper,

whatever it is, I only wish for 
the hare home safe. and so, do I. 

(c)Byung A. Fallgren
 

On Desire
Dujie Tahat

A firm hand. The shadow waves of satin.
I am not yet flesh. He calls me baby,
and I touch my face. I'm searching for god
when I oil my body in the mirror. To love it
mean to love a man mean an opening
to another man. When I take my glasses off
all the lines blur. A body is a body without
language, I tell my girlfriend and she laughs,
mouth wide enough to hide in. she shows me
my soft parts. I dissolve into what. I forget
hiding also means a good beating, the way
passion can be suffering. I can't believe
my whole life I never touched what made me
holy. We have bread, butter and nowhere to be. 

Dujie Tahat is the author of "Here I am O my God" 
(Poets' Society of America, 2020), selected for a
Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship,
Salat (Tupelo 2020), winner of the Tupelo Press
Summer Garden Chapbook Award.    
    

The Window in the Corner

Usually, it is hidden behind the blinder,
for the funguses blooming between 
the panes--guilty one, jealous or lazy soul,
with no way of purge it;
but when opened the blinder
it provides an excellent view of the
pasture in all seasons--a person 
with a lot of potential, 

like the unfinished 
project in a box in the dark basement 
deemed to be silver, if not a little piece 
of your dream.

So, why not banish the blinder?
because...

the blinder winks;
fungus, like the man who
would have been there; what can I say?


(c)Byung A. Fallgren

What life does, is this

While driving outskirt of town
to check on a friend in distress,
I saw in rearview mirror a patrol car,
lights flashing, follows me.
pulled over, wondering what I did wrong.

Show me the license, ma'am, he said.
I did.
You did over speed, he said. Where were
you going? 
To a friend of mine grieving for her
parents who died in recent hurricane.

I'm sorry, he went on, but you are fined
a hundred dollar or more. 
I winced. 
Considering your clean record, I'll just 
give you a warning. Next time, you must pay.
I thanked him.

Continuing on my way, I was surprised 
by the trees in oranges, gold and red,
in just a week; they changed from a few tints
of the end of summer to the deep autumn,
full display of the beauty of the season.

The small luck of the day and the warning of the officer;
the retirees who quickly vanished from the golden age;
like October trees signaling for the inevitable winter;
winter, the time of respite and restoration for spring;

this is what life does; teacher of how all that can be better 
with some flashlight, like the warning of the cop. 

(c) Byung A. Fallgren

   




 

Grand Teton, overdone praise or not

From the pathway, you weren't 
as grand as I thought you would be
like some twisted opinion of truth.

Looking back, your peaks show
the different side of you:
hidden valley in the dark shadow;
seems to harbor the grandeur;
the narrow, steep ridge
twisted and crawls up toward the top, with
young man's ardent ambition; persists
to uncover the unseen;
the reason for cry in the world of darkness,

with endless dream of king;
wish to turn around to see the whole,
with a fresh eye, to meet you, real you. 

©Byung A. Fallgren