-


i have decided to
meditate on
nothing

by filling a moment
of voids with -

no parks
no dogs to walk
no children out playing
no cars cruising dead end streets
no boats in a river that flows nowhere
no fishermen having fish to fill their boats
no livelihood, no fish on a plate, no plate
to place back on the shelf, no shelf
to fix upon the wall, no wall
to hang photos, no photos
to look at, no faces
to recall,

nil,

just so maybe i can
feel the Universe
pour itself

back into me...


s jones
Dec 2020

.

-

weeks after he ascended
from his fallen carcass—

troops vacated what once
was good ground,

rains washed in mud
to refill the holes,

the scent of honeysuckle
once again became
intrusive,

birds of prey returned
to their perches-

watching as

squirrels and rabbits
went about
their collections,

and the veil of silent
winds once again
descended.

after decades passed
through the footfalls
of morning strolls
between healing
vegetation and
eroding
rock—

a park had completed
formation about the
flanks of his bones ...


s jones
2020


.

-


in case you may not know, it was the last car
at the end of a train, usually it was a red or
occasionally a yellow color which would be
clearly noticed

this car was manned in order to monitor the
train from that end for any issues, particularly
in case an axle from one of the coal cars locks
up and catches on fire

but i guess this feature was eliminated due to
improvements in the wheel assemblies, or maybe
because they had new electronic monitoring for the
crews in the locomotives

if you are under the age of thirty, this may not have
been general knowledge to you since the use of these
cars were phased out sometime in the 1980's, now a
red flashing light signifies the end of the train

you can see one of these cars parked near the city
square just north of the Tennessee/Kentucky
border in Guthrie— there is just enough rail
underneath to hold it braked in place

i think the rails once extended to the mainline
and the car was trapped there when acetylene
cutters terminated its route in either direction.

the men who rode it are now
the ghosts of everlasting
employment.

now we have thousands riding the
caboose of their careers amidst
red blaring lights that flash
from all imaginable
directions—

many of them sitting motionless
upon routes that go nowhere...



s jones
2010-2020

После поздных свиданий
Ночных
Уже не выбраешь сидения
А выбраешь вагон
Носишь огонь
Же ты Дракон.

Открытость твоего лица и твоих руки
И твой соглашающийся язык

И твой ароматный  попутный ветер дыхания

От солнца твое питание
И от бога

И как красиво ты говоришь

برگشاده روی و دستانت
و بر زبان آری گویت،
و بر نفحات انفاس موافقت،
و از خورشیدت خورش
و از خدایت
و چه زیبا سخن می گویی ای مرد
و من می گویم
مرا ببالان
مرا فراخ کن

The rain knows
only how to fall heavily,
and still remains beautiful

But I know only the
loneliness of December

goodness is more powerful than evil
never hurt a child
the meek shall inherit the earth
love is, luck is, skin is,
we never have to hurt ourselves
to feel our love for someone,
we spoke to the evil, it said
that it was too evil, it said it
was fed up of the evil and that it
just wanted to go. everyone who
is kind and gentle helps goodness.

They say you lose more then just the person.
At first it’s anger,then hurt then guilt but gradually you fall through
You don’t think about them,you barely remember how they smile your moving on
Until one day it starts
It starts of small, you pick up a tissue and it’s his scent
You freeze as the cold air passes through
Your heart stops
Clenches
All it brings is hurt
You think of all the things you don’t do
Unintentionally
Or intentionally
You don’t listen to hey there Delilah
It’s your song
You don’t chew gum
No one carries it for you anymore
You no longer sit on the left side of the bus
Because the hope of seeing you on the right is heartbreaking
You no longer have caramel frappes
Or sit on random stairs to chat
You no longer walk in the snow
It was the first time you were told you were loved
You no longer hold hands
Or throw your arms around someone
You no longer wear frill socks
There’s no one there to pull them up
You don’t like being called meri jaan
That was the first word he learnt in your language
You wait and wait just to see him once more
The small eyes, half grin smile
Beaming at you
Knowing that you made him feel that
Over the years you will move on
As time passes
Memories fade
You’ll keep him close
The hurt will dull
But he won’t stop coming
Waltzing in
And just smiling
Leaving you heartbroken
In all those moments

-

That ******
Mirror—

the thought of faces in humanity
showing scars of cast'd regularity
now mutes my expressions ;
~
jovial faces display smooth contours,
riverbeds of smiles and amusement,
a'flow— gleefully downstream

sullen faces carve heavy heart canyons,
white rapids pushing difficult rocks
in opposing directions
~
all of this scribbled down
in short-hand by the
Surveyors of Time.

—

i now relax my
composure
to this—

carefully drawn maps of
experiences, upon glance

face to face, year by year,
smoothed and unfolded

ever so slow melts
my candle, abreast

whilst smiling my bones
with an approval
from Death...


© 2020


.