John Sweet
beneath the violent weight

beneath the violent weight

in the afternoon
we speak softly of the
queen of open wounds

we walk from the house
to the river
and you name the flowers
we find along the way

you look past lorca's bones
to the beauty of his soul
and ask why i can't
do the same

i have heard this before
this bitter desperation
but never beneath
the beautiful weight of a
late june sky

i have listened to you
long enough to learn to
doubt myself

long enough to believe in
the holiness of
the burning house
and there is between us
a wall that neither one
will admit

fear is the
next step after sorrow
and beyond that
there is only desert

it's here
that we will finally
look at each other and
not be blind

Poet's Biography:

John Sweet has been writing poetry for 19 years and has had over 1,000 poems published in the small press. His latest chapbooks include Scorched Earth Policy (Black Hoody Nation) and Seasons of Rust (Via Dolorosa Press). When he first started to take a serious interest in poetry, he believed that most of what he read was too etheral and detached from everyday life, so he started trying to write pieces that were a little more truthful and grounded in reality. He is opposed to any school of poetry.