JAMIE ELIZABETH METZGAR
Click headshot for bio
ROMA
If my belief so bright parlayed into might,
I would wield a mighty machete.
I’d hack and I’d slash
The voice from your past
That lurks in your mind, ever ready.
If the demon of dread could flip onto its head,
I’d dress it a carnival jester.
As we’d watch it perform,
Your fears would transform
And no longer could linger or fester.
If I could sneak in behind the screen in your mind,
I’d project only vivid tableaux.
All that loss and neglect
Would forever deflect
And map over what happened long ago.
If my dreams while awake could conjure up quakes, I’d concoct a tremor of sorts.
Your words would collapse
And you could build no more traps
Out of barbs and brutal retorts.
If like Ulysses I could fashion splinters of wood,
I’d prop your eyes forever wide open.
You might start to understand
And trust the outstretched hand
But I’m useless to this boy so broken.
"Joe: Out of Darkness" by Gary L. Wolfe. Oil and encaustic on tarpaper.
OF A FEATHER
There is a bird in Venezuela,
Purple and yellow.
You can see it darting around El Avila
And if you’ve never seen it before,
Its beauty is startling.
I don’t know its scientific name,
But in Venezuela, they call it the lunatic bird.
The lunatic bird is fast.
It flies like a spear launched with precision.
The lunatic bird can be seen
Nestled among tropical flora
Purple and yellow in green and orange.
The lunatic bird is elusive
And you’ll try to get a better look
But you won’t.
This nameless bird is called a lunatic
Because if you put it in a cage,
It will smash its head against the walls
Until its neck breaks
And it dies.
The lunatic bird can also be found
As an expressionless woman
Listening to music on headphones
Standing next to you
On the train.
"Frankenstein Meets the Birdbrains" by Christopher McGee. Mixed media on canvas.