Ocean Song

If you cut out my tongue
I will grow a new one
I have done it a dozen times
before,
if you deign to curse and steal my eyes
go right ahead
innervision has a long history
of citing the sublime as compass
and courage,
my limbs
my teeth
my skin
sorry my friend
but shedding is the byproduct
of heaven’s lighted purge,
if you wish to dismantle my bones
piece by piece
and grind them into dust
I will be forced to improvise
and pick the locks
of the ancestral vault
and reform myself
through the bones
of the dead
you couldn’t claim
as losses
in your fattened ledger
of hollow victories
(see: History
written by
Winners),
if you want to take me
and my name
by force
understand that I am
but one among many
who course
and flow
without reserve
from river to river
in paying respects
and song
to an ocean
that will swallow you
whole
and not even burp

 

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About John Biscello

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, writer, poet, performer, and playwright, John Biscello, has lived in the high-desert grunge-wonderland of Taos, New Mexico since 2001. He is the author of four novels, Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, Nocturne Variations, and No Man’s Brooklyn; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag, two poetry collections, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street; and a fable, The Jackdaw and the Doll, illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama. He also adapted classic fables, which were paired with the vintage illustrations of artist, Paul Bransom, for the collection: Once Upon a Time, Classic Fables Reimagined. His produced, full-length plays include: LOBSTERS ON ICE, ADAGIO FOR STRAYS, THE BEST MEDICINE, ZEITGEIST, U.S.A., and WEREWOLVES DON’T WALTZ.
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2 Responses to Ocean Song

  1. but shedding is the byproduct of heaven’s lighted purge, perfect. But the end is the best 🙂

    Like

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