Bound Verse

Sixty Poems by D.W. Bohn
Arranged in Ten Sextets

Sextet I Sextet II Sextet III Sextet IV Sextet V Sextet VI Sextet VII Sextet IX Sextet X

Sextet VIII

first empty 1

complete fulfillment
has but one prerequisite
utter emptiness

 untitled

disturb the silence
say only what must be said
fall silent again
tragedy's end

we are the ones still onstage
at the tragedy's end
it's up to us to utter
the last few lines
and prepare the audience
for the falling
of the curtain
when amid great applause
their beloved victims
will return to take their bows

be available 1

suspend intention
simply be available
to be enlightened

 express 2

as he leans down heavily
on his rickety hospital issue walker
an old man hearkens
to a horn blaring familiar corsetted tones
and smiles the smile of welcome recognition

bells start to ring
and as if whispering the walker's wheels
squeak softly and inaudibly as the old man
lurches forward to watch the train pass by

over locomotive percussion
he hears the horn blow again double loud
and the doppler shifting sound
rises and peaks and then dies away gracefully
until all that remains is the sound of someone
running along the tracks
trying to catch up to the future
cloak 3

the fit feels so perfectly fine
and the fabric so well woven
that no one ever seems to notice
signs of wear

so why should anyone wonder
that every day we cover ourselves
in the warm cloak of comfortable delusions

is the nagging awareness
of personal insignificance
really that keen

© 2000, 2001 by D.W. Bohn

Sextet I Sextet II Sextet III Sextet IV Sextet V Sextet VI Sextet VII Sextet IX Sextet X

1 These poems also appear in Fragmented Light, a website devoted to haiku and senryu

2 This poem was published in the Spring 2000 issue of Friction Magazine

3 This poem was published in issue no. 39 of VOiCE Magazine