"Pilgrimage," "Burning in Total Blackness," and "In Deserted Rooms"
Pilgrimage
Engraved in the miasma
our souls are like
blood on embers
obscuring any silver-lining
It is hard to find
days that do no harm
huddled in the corner of night
my mind is loose fabric, soon to be shed
Silence will soon emerge
and recede
the years dwindle
in the palm of my hand
Burning in Total Blackness
Strewn across
Desirous dreams
Are concentrations of lead
Each form of escape
Is more dire than the last
These callouses
Are hard to keep inside
Default modes of being
Often betray feeling
We stand
Pressed against desires
Miles past the wreckage
Thoughts bear little semblance
To words spoken
Sifting through
Faint decay
A modicum of images
Are all that’s left
In Deserted Rooms
I know a lot of times
I appear in-between
One thought and the next
Finding warmth beyond
Your own name
Is a life-long task
These minutes are heavy enough
To carry all our longings
One by one, we confront decay
Even the succinct pain
Rises by degrees
The trampled flowers are only a mirror
J.L Moultrie is a 30 year old poet based in Detroit, Michigan. He fell in love with reading and writing poetry after encountering Hart Crane, Rainer Maria Rilke and others. His work appears or is forthcoming in Rigorous, White Wall Review, Sonder Midwest, Gravitas, Datura Literary Journal and elsewhere. He is a dog and cat dad and holds an Associate of Arts degree from Wayne County Community College. J.L recommends the Michigan Humane Society.
