Ben Burr - Two Poems

Untitled #93

psychedelic nightmares
of the underground
fill my fevered head
with visions of god
a god with voices
in every color, singing
with words archaic
speaking of the evil
of the lighted mouth
as the talk turns
the signs disappear
into the broken valley
leaving the nude
to find their way



Kick the Devil

my hands shake
my mouth is dry
and it's only been
ten hours since the last fix
cold turkey should be reserved
for late November
not a way to kick
under the Tennessee sun
inside this aching body
lies a calm mind
and a pure heart
I will do this
I must do this
not for me
for you
for us
for that tiny house
on the corner
with the grand front porch
and tiny little windows
that will fill
with tiny little faces
one day
one day when this junk
this is all behind us

Ben Burr is a writer from East Nashville, Tennessee. His second book, The Nashville Poems, was released in 2011.