Shift

Posted on May 20, 2018 by John Biscello

I used to wreck

on a regular basis.

Going off the rails

was my subversive way

of keeping things

under control.

Illusions

and mirages astonished me,

still do.

Something,

anything,

to hold on to

was my gutted mantra,

hollowed out

to catch void

and the fastest air.

I am learning to chant

a new chant,

one baby verse at a time,

slowed to where language

stumbles upon the earth

in my mouth

and above my head,

where ground is rent

to meet heaven

on its own shifting terms.

About John Biscello

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, writer, poet, spoken word performer, and playwright, John Biscello now lives in Taos, New Mexico. He is the author of three novels: Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, and Nocturne Variations, and a collection of stories, Freeze Tag. His fiction and poetry has appeared in: Art Times, nthposition, The Wanderlust Review, Ophelia Street, Caper, Polyphony, Dilate, Militant Roger, Chokecherries, Farmhouse, BENT, The 555 Collective, Instigator, Brass Sopaipilla, The Iconoclast, Adobe Walls, Kansas City Voices, and the Tishman Review. His blog--Notes of an Urban Stray--can be read at johnbiscello.blogspot.com. Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale was named Underground Book Reviews 2014 Book of the Year.

View all posts by John Biscello →

This entry was posted in Poetry, Uncategorized and tagged art, expression, ground, Heaven, John Biscello, poem, shift, transformation. Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to Shift

erroneouschoices says:

May 20, 2018 at 9:40 pm

Sounds like a perfect change of pace

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Reply
- John Biscello says:
  
  May 20, 2018 at 9:53 pm
  
  Yes, it is a ripening process, slower, deeper, different : )
  
  LikeLiked by 1 person
  
  Reply
saynotoclowns says:

May 23, 2018 at 12:45 am

This is gorgeous, and a profound expression of something a lot of people could relate to.

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Reply
- John Biscello says:
  
  May 23, 2018 at 7:08 am
  
  Thank you
  
  LikeLiked by 1 person
  
  Reply
  - saynotoclowns says:
    
    May 23, 2018 at 8:36 am
    
    you are most welcome.
    
    LikeLike

Shift

I used to wreck

on a regular basis.

Going off the rails

was my subversive way

of keeping things

under control.

Illusions

and mirages astonished me,

still do.

Something,

anything,

to hold on to

was my gutted mantra,

hollowed out

to catch void

and the fastest air.

I am learning to chant

a new chant,

one baby verse at a time,

slowed to where language

stumbles upon the earth

in my mouth

and above my head,

where ground is rent

to meet heaven

on its own shifting terms.

About John Biscello

5 Responses to Shift

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Shift

I used to wreck

on a regular basis.

Going off the rails

was my subversive way

of keeping things

under control.

Illusions

and mirages astonished me,

still do.

Something,

anything,

to hold on to

was my gutted mantra,

hollowed out

to catch void

and the fastest air.

I am learning to chant

a new chant,

one baby verse at a time,

slowed to where language

stumbles upon the earth

in my mouth

and above my head,

where ground is rent

to meet heaven

on its own shifting terms.

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About John Biscello

5 Responses to Shift

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