Lee Evans Verse-Virtual 2017 May

May 2017

I live with my wife in Bath, Maine and work for the local YMCA. My activities consist of such things as contemplative walking in the out-of-doors, and teaching myself, with great difficulty, the Pali language. My work has been published in "The Christendom Review", "Mused: The Bella Online Literary Review", "The Poetry Porch" and other places. I have self-published several books of poetry, which are available on Lulu.com.

PHIL OCHS ON THE ISLAND OF BARREN MOUNTAINS

The compact disc is spinning in the dash
Of the Grand Am we rented for our tour.
Your voice becomes the spirit of these shores,
Surrounding us in waves that roll and crash
About the crags whereon your face is splashed
In cubist planes and cracks--a technique old
Of landscape painters such as Thomas Cole,
Who dramatized that elemental smash.

Your songs are like the mountains and the plains
Of this exploited land that we consume.
Yes, even now the verses of your pain
Are as prophetical as when they sprang
To life from your twice-strangled vocal chords,
Declaring the defeat of hate and war.

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