Sunday, April 22, 2012

Marcus Slease


ROMAN RUINS

(special thanks Philip Whalen)


a hand in the bush
is worth two in the pocket

reared on nuts
brushed by a horseʼs tail

that cold clean temple

thunder descends from mount Asama

the lemon tree is heavy

all the fuses are blown

colder and colder
the sun also shines

a tarnished candle stick

other things are perfected underground

onions and parsnips and diamonds
letʼs have those



Marcus Slease was born in Portadown, N. Ireland in 1974. He has published widely in North America and Europe in such magazines as: La Granada, Cleaves, Octopus, Conduit, Diagram, Hayden's Ferry Review, Forklift Ohio, Columbia Poetry Review, Talisman, and Past Simple. His latest collections are: from Smashing Time (miPOesias Chapbook 2012), Hello Tiny Bird Brain(Knives Forks and Spoons 2011), Balloons (Deadwood Press 2011), and Godzenie (Blazevox 2009). Currently, he lives in London and teaches travel writing and ESL at Richmond American University. He blogs at Never Mind the Beasts: www.marcusslease.blogspot.com.