Keith Roach
Poet & host of No Boarders 24/7 Poetry Radio
To find out more about Keith, click here:
http://www.difetroach.com/
http://www.live365.com/stations/noboarderspoetry/
http://verbsonasphalt.com/

WHERE I LIVE

where I lived brittle renewed swamps
empty from old forests blue
urban utopia civil and modern divided
walls
shades of manumission work 
linesbrick and concrete gridwork
once primeval previous--
home to creeping things all sacred 
to gods and idol nods 
where I lived at was always
once noble savage's rent controlled migrations---

life balked at salvations
laid down at the crossroads
but all the deals were done 
and satan     on hiatus or vacationing 
suggested before all closings---

"blessed indeed are the meek
for they dare not confound"---

where I live 
resurrection costs dearly
whether urban or mythical
a perilous roll call of sainted cornerstones
stupid irony 
a renewal of domain removals
one meek after the other 
warred slaves and immigrants
mottled colors bent and twisted into 
council's torts and assemblys
swarming flocks cut into 
haves and have nots
pressure elected sudden promises
slums
their lords 
crucified trees
and the hosts of industry---

where I live
almost citizenry countenance the abyss
abyssinia
then round the sphere
where I live tho
land is flat and dollar declared--
lost fares reside among
ghetto haunting mansions---

and in whose house where
these many?

RICEWINE

in a quiet little room
full of keepsakes is
a bottle of ricewine
it is saved for some certain guests
who will laugh at 
the common foibles
as quickly as they will forget 
sitting around a kitchen table 
that wobbles just enough to keep
elbows off and manners intact
stories and quick sayings 
batted back and forth even
as the wine and winemaker are praised
the sweetness loosens the laughter
and beckons another for the road
life is of the wondrous and the silly
haunting desire and memory
we sit at this table
and the world spins a bit faster 
changing skies as often as 
the stories change to engage
non participants 
who are still amazed at this wine
that is homemade 
and saved for the friends
who want the adventure 
as well as the remembering
calling the ghosts of other acquaintances
who would have enjoyed the wine
and the tale of its becoming
and how it was that this 
sweet drink
happened just for this
occasion