Jon Ojala Poems

It was always a war which cut across
all classes, villages, families,
Us versus them.
Their 'aberration' convicted them.
...

They've caused suffering beyond measure.
Sparing neither soldier nor civilian from their greed,
the war-kings count their profits.
...

I watch with childlike fascination
as the hummingbird flies into my garden.
The morning sun causes the tiny bird
to sparkle with green fire
...

Buzzards in the bathroom,
Dragons in the sink,
A walrus in the hamper,
The penguins stop to think.
...

The young boy lays down on his back
in the short grass near the top of the hill,
shivering from the cold of the late Fall night.
He stares into the starry, moonless sky,
...

I've built for myself
a pleasant existence,
comfortable but not opulent,
finding love of family,
...

She died today, my sister Sandy,
expelled from our mother's womb before the birth-moment,
when will the crying stop?
...

Any act of kindness,
freely given,
without expectation
of personal gain
...

To the unanswered question,
silence is not an answer.
Although some would argue
Silence's virtue is of itself
...