Roger N. Taber
Heaven Can Wait
Local park, lonely tree
child looks up
in a bloody pool, who
should be at school;
Tall, grown old
branches outflung
at a brave new world;
Small and sad, kid in uniform
hugs a photograph
before taking a pen-knife, to
scratch out a life
on rough bark. Tree submits.
(Hanging skylark
lets out a cry, as
chick-in-the-nest
prepares to fly). Climb, climb!
Terra out of mind.
Bullies down our way, chaff
on the wind...
Tears for mum and dad and pal
heffalump;
Gran and grandpa, show ‘em all
not afraid
to jump. A still, small voice
whispers in the ear
Don’t be scared of bully fear
but find a way
to share, that eventually
it may disappear
And it did, I know. That kid
at the Hanging Tree
long ago, but walked away
free - was me
Page(s) 87
magazine list
- Features
- zines
- 10th Muse
- 14
- Acumen
- Agenda
- Ambit
- Angel Exhaust
- ARTEMISpoetry
- Atlas
- Blithe Spirit
- Borderlines
- Brando's hat
- Brittle Star
- Candelabrum
- Cannon's Mouth, The
- Chroma
- Coffee House, The
- Dream Catcher
- Equinox
- Erbacce
- Fabric
- Fire
- Floating Bear, The
- French Literary Review, The
- Frogmore Papers, The
- Global Tapestry
- Grosseteste Review
- Homeless Diamonds
- Interpreter's House, The
- Iota
- Journal, The
- Lamport Court
- London Magazine, The
- Magma
- Matchbox
- Matter
- Modern Poetry in Translation
- Monkey Kettle
- Moodswing
- Neon Highway
- New Welsh Review
- North, The
- Oasis
- Obsessed with pipework
- Orbis
- Oxford Poetry
- Painted, spoken
- Paper, The
- Pen Pusher Magazine
- Poetry Cornwall
- Poetry London
- Poetry London (1951)
- Poetry Nation
- Poetry Review, The
- Poetry Salzburg Review
- Poetry Scotland
- Poetry Wales
- Private Tutor
- Purple Patch
- Quarto
- Rain Dog
- Reach Poetry
- Review, The
- Rialto, The
- Second Aeon
- Seventh Quarry, The
- Shearsman
- Smiths Knoll
- Smoke
- South
- Staple
- Strange Faeces
- Tabla Book of New Verse, The
- Thumbscrew
- Tolling Elves
- Ugly Tree, The
- Weyfarers
- Wolf, The
- Yellow Crane, The