3 poems by Fabrice B. Poussin

Charity

She cried when they laughed at her despair
alone for the holidays on her street corner
witnesses unintended continued on the stroll
leisurely to the next shopping mecca.

He thought he screamed within when
those powerful ones in mourning suits
in unison clamored their customary no
as the man pleaded for a little compassion.

Married to rules secret to their identities
they grin with the pleasure of Gods
as if gifted with infinite latitude
to do as they fancy without a care.

For the harm they cause or
the joy they withhold for a mere reason
that they have given themselves ultimate
rights to create their laws. 

They might be undertakers behind the pulpit
hiding under the uniform, design their
unequaled cruelty when even their God
frowns in disgust as they smile pridefully. 





First Breath

quietly lying beneath the dew of an awakening
journeying into lands yet to be
she is still, within the smile of a warmer solstice

given to the universe in her vulnerable pose
fingers bent upon the soft palms
her chest heaves below the gentle cocoon

patiently awaiting in the uncommon bliss
her features teased by the rays of a new star
she remains listening for the sign of a new life

in perfect restful unison, he too is alert
to the imperceptible motion
a change in the heat of the season.

the aroma of far-away lands tickles her senses
her hand seeks reassurance 
together they feel a gentle trepidation.




Invisible links

The cord is organic of flesh
in it the blood flows thick and blue
and none can see it, aliens they are
to the truest connection that is.

You see, they are not together now
perhaps even great distances away
for more than a mere day or two
but they speak to each other through space.

They need not scream nor write poetry
the particles that make them all belong
to one origin far away in time
and still, they know where they belong.

In a quest which began with first light
now at the end of an eternal journey
it is one more step they take
marching to merely vanish within one another.

No one knows of this miracle
present in each eon of the universe
for they are two conquerors of the whole
content if invisible, for the invincibility of their union.

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Fabrice B. Poussin is a professor of French and World Literature. His work in poetry and photography has appeared in Kestrel, Symposium, The Chimes, and hundreds of other publications worldwide. Most recently, his collections In Absentia, and If I Had a Gun, Half Past Lifewere published in 2021, 2022, and 2023 by Silver Bow Publishing.