Barry Middleton Poems

time keeps painting lazy eights
up and down the sky
I never know the azimuth
but somehow I get by
...

eschew the person
who disdains children

pull away from those
...

Who knows what they wanted,
they were not very clear.
But if they wanted courage,
I only offered fear.
...

these are not toy soldiers
this is not a video game
this is a sacred war
the enemy must be killed
...

There are shadows in my mind,
vanished lovers and lost friends.
There are hard and heartless demons,
aimless dreams and blind dead ends.
...

it is a hot day in late spring
the magnolias are blooming
bees are gathering nectar
...

poetry cannot change the world
despite the claim the poet made
and yet we write with that intent
to make a mark beyond the grave
...

these are the angry people
they claim they were cheated
the tax man was a thief
their life was brought to grief
...

somewhere there must be a defense
there must be that quiet place
a defense against a ruthless world
...

I never felt the bullet strike,
my death was quite serene,
but it was just an interlude,
a brief dramatic scene.
...