Category: poem new writing

Poem of the day

Homegrown Terror

The people who walk down back alleys
must have something to hide
subversives, if not terrorists
avoiding prying eyes

They seem poor and tired
but that could be just a front
they’re probably a sleeper cell
dreaming of martyrdom

New poem

A few days ago I was sitting in my favourite pub in Saskatoon, having a pint of Guinness (and to hell with the Celiac nonsense), with a chaser of Tallisker, occasionally glancing outside at passersby—

—and then suddenly I was scrabbling for my notebook as the following came to me:

See World

window people
framed for a moment
like aquarium fish
exotically drifting

Photo: Sherron Burns

 

Disappearing people (poem)

Liam:photo

Los Indignados

Maybe you were a subversive.
Part of a cell.
Or you ordered some questionable books.
Matching some profile.
Compromised by a friend.
Betrayed by a rival.
Brought in for routine questioning.
Vehemently denying all charges.
Tragically expiring while in custody.
The official inquiry tactfully deflecting blame.
A closed casket, to spare your poor mother.

 

© 2016  Cliff Burns (All Rights Reserved)

Photo credit: Liam Burns

Viewing the world through wary eyes (verse)

Rio picThe Taxonomy of Passing Faces

None of them seem capable of it.
They all appear so innocent.
Smiling, engaged in conversation.
You’d never suspect them of wrongdoing.
The terrorist they conceal within.

 

© 2016  Cliff Burns (All Rights Reserved)

Photo by Liam Burns

Missing you…

valley

Song for You

If I shouted your praises
this morning
climbed King’s Hill and
through cupped hands
serenaded the painted valley
with my corrido of longing
would you hear it
where you are
a whisper, a susurrus
pitched beyond sound yet
strangely pleasing to your ears?

(C. Burns)