J.D. Heskin- Two Poems

PAGAN LAMENT

 

Before the first brick was laid,
I lived beyond the woods
in a house built of thatch and saplings.
The hides of hairy beasts
warmed my feet and shoulders.
Herbal scented hay held my head as I slept without regret.
And when the grape consented,
I argued with the gods
beneath cedar boughs in the summer air.
My wife sang kitchen songs that filled my heart
as her busyness filled my stomach.
My children played simple games
that they will remember
with immeasurable pleasure
in the hoary times of their future.
Life was good,
before the first brick was laid.

 

 

 

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JOHN AND MARIE

 

John is a good man. He is fifty-seven years old,
he has a loving wife, three adult children
and four lively, healthy grandchildren.
He has a good job, a nice home, a cabin
by the lake and ninety-eight thousand dollars
in the bank. But that is not to say, he doesn't worry.
Oh, he worries. He worries about the economy
and the environment; he worries about the fate
of the nation, his job and the future of his loved ones.
He worries about most everything in his life.

 

Marie doesn't worry about what John's worries about. 
Marie is only ten years old and lies in a hospital bed.
Horrific burns cover most of her body.
Marie just wants to die.

 

J.D.Heskin lives in Duluth, Minnesota. His work can be found in many print and online publications such as Candelabrum, Poetry Magazine, Poetry Midwest, Southern Ocean Review and Snakeskin.