POEMS from DAVID MICHAEL NIXON

You’re Not Sisyphus

I’m not your stone to roll back up

the hill, each time my weight

becomes too much.  Next time you can’t

muscle me up, just step aside

and let me go.  I’ll lie at the base

of the hill and you’ll be free.

In the Pines

She reached her hand and hauled me up

into her hammock in the pines.

The night grew cold enough to see

a halo form around the moon.

Beneath her crazy quilt, we found

a midnight sun against that freeze.

Life Game

The game goes on.

Or is it far

beyond mere play?

Day after day

we dodge each star

that falls, each con

that tries to trick

us where we live.

We spin beyond

the fetid ponds,

the flashing shivs,

but plague is quick.

©David Michael Nixon

David Michael Nixon has had four poetry chapbooks and two full-length poetry books published. Stephen Forgives the Stones: New and Selected Poems (FootHills Publishing, 2018) is his latest book. His poems have appeared in many periodicals and anthologies, including Yankee, Kayak, HazMat Review, Waterways, Home Planet News, Potato Eyes, and Le Mot Juste. He has given many poetry readings, and has performed as an a cappella singer. David lives in Rochester, New York (Hilton, New York during the pandemic).