John Amen

DARK ZEN


The sky is a pile of blue thread at my feet.
 
I am worried that I will not
grab something important before I evaporate.
 
You say grace, I say luck.
 
We walk noon-ward in the stubborn wind.
You look at me with can-opener eyes.
 
Prayers flutter to the ground
like propaganda dropped from warplanes.
 
For Christmas, give me fame and a sledgehammer.

John Amen is the author of two collections of poetry: Christening the Dancer (Uccelli Press 2003) and More of Me Disappears (Cross-Cultural Communications 2005). He has also released one CD, All I’ll Never Need (Cool Midget 2004). His second CD, Ridiculous Empire, will be released in Summer 2007. Further information is available on his website. Amen founded and continues to edit the award-winning literary bimonthly, The Pedestal Magazine.