John Yohe- Two Poems

Your love

 

I lift your love out of its cage

writhing in my hands

hissing and rattling

open mouth fangs

scales smooth and slippery

an earth scent

 

I lower your love scared and angry

to the ground

to walk upon

to test my faith

to demonstrate my dominion

and your love accepts my weight

and I speak in tongues

 

raising your love again

draping it around my neck

it rises

glaring

as if to strike

as if to bite

but instead lowers itself

nuzzling

down into my shirt

 

The One

 

            Tu es pure, tu es encore plus

            pure que moi-même

                                    -Eluard

 

If I say I have given up nothing

it is not true

and the smoke doesn’t care

if I go

 

her mouth

her eyes

I may be the only one to speak of them

the only one to have been surrounded

and choked by the heat

 

and fire has a face

a hated face

a hating face

your face

you who I will not name who other men have known

 

the dirt says: on me

the ashes say: on me

embers sense your presence

and our best moments

still burn

 

the sadness of knowing you

the sadness of having you

or not

 

the impatience of waiting

the corruption

you who forgets

destroys

who brings absence and takes me from the world

I hate you for crying

which destroys me and creates itself

like fire

Bio

Born in Puerto Rico, John Yohe grew up in Michigan, and currently lives in Portland, Oregon. He has worked as a wildland firefighter, deckhand/oiler, runner/busboy, bike messenger, wilderness ranger, as well as a teacher of writing.  A complete list of his publications, and poetry, fiction and non-fiction writing samples, can be found at his website: johnyohe dot com