Presence and Absence

Presence and Absence 

In the empty sky 

are the power of those eyes. 

In static sound, 

white noise 

from an empty radio, 

is the texture of the voice. 

In fog 

is the exhumed breath 

of you 

nourishing my skin. 

-Robert L. Jackson III

Deep Time

Deep time 

I caught 

the white rabbit, 

forever late, 

and sacrificed it 

for thought. 

-Robert L. Jackson III

Purple

Purple

On faux seas

float

with no hope to sink

and no need for wind.

The hull carries the loot

of 1000 mardi gras beads.

Potholes on the road

crash as waves on the bow.

Planks of paper

soften in the rain,

revealing the dark machine

underneath.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Moon Poem

Another Moon Poem Defending its Territory

The moon,

in glowing silence,

controls the port,

submerging

the jagged reef 

at high tide,

but showing its teeth

during the reciprocal age.

-Robert L. Jackson III

intravenous

Drip your blood

to me

through the intravenous

holes in time and space.

Drip your love

to me

through quantum fibers

and tears in science.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Picture used from:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeYY5srjW6c/

Hum

Hum

The modern machines

are too quiet,

humming in harmony,

but muted,

and we live unaware

of their conversions.

The engines of nature

have no buffers

over the rustling of leaves

the chirping of birds,

the scratching of wood,

or the calls in the night,

except for the stealth

of the predators.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Sticks

Sticks

The boundary is flat

on the river.

Roots erode;

and trees cross the realm,

extending

the bare knuckles

of their bony fingers

to the travelers

above.

The swirling knots

of the waterlogged wood

stare across

and speak 

to the ringed cores

of the survivors.

The fibrous matter

separates

from the soul

in the dark depths.

We wallow in the mud,

with unburied bones,

exposed,

and leaving no need

for chiseled tombstones.

-Robert L. Jackson III

Posted for Poets United midweek motif of Soul/Psyche.