"Nature Boys"
Nature Boys
Flowering red and butterfly on the bush,
in concert with black birds,
a boy’s heart beats ten thousand times,
and above – glorious – the serene blue,
golden sunshine through the broken cloud,
below, first apples in the orchards,
and white poplars on the hill,
wood-ducks already on the riverbanks…
this cannot be missed Armand, good friend,
slender aspens, lowing willows,
ferns in green blustery grove,
and a field like a plaza’s wide rectangle,
where we run and scatter, through
orange hawkweed, lance-leaved coreopsis,
rain-washed dusty boneset,
on a golden afternoon,
climb the rough-stone to the old cemetery,
admire Clive and Randolph, especially
Anna, devout, where she lies in. her earth,
our nerves trembling like harp strings,
beneath tall needle-spilling pine,
before cross, angels on towers,
these balconies to the past,
where the memories can
giggle, flutter and alight
on all these chiseled names.
But, for the rest: it’s life, it’s today:
the blue mountain, the river,
the grave ravens
and Armand and I,
boy-virgins with the smell of gum,
pursuing the wind through the lilies,
brown skin, green eyes,
and clear warm racing hearts.
John Grey is an Australian born poet, works as financial systems analyst. Recently published in Bryant Poetry Review, Tribeca Poetry Review and the horror anthology, “What Fears Become”with work upcoming in Potomac Review, Hurricane Review and Osiris.