3 Poems by John Dorsey

 3 Poems

 by John Dorsey

Country Road in Winter (1984) by Gibson Byrd

All of these poems grew out of a sadness over inequality in the world. Over things and

people I cannot change no matter how close to them I am.

Over the fact that the closer I am, the more unbending they seem to me.

- John Dorsey

Songs About Vaginas

at 37 my brother struts like ted nugent

in our parents basement

just like he did

back in high school

it’s like he’s trapped in a time machine

shaped like a muscle car full of regrets

the women he sings about

have never been real

they’ve never shopped for groceries

or fumbled around for loose change

on the pennsylvania turnpike

only to have it all

lead to nowhere.

Belle Missouri, a Rose by Any Other Name

the klu klux klan drops off pamphlets

at our local bookstore

& nobody says anything

& people are dying in the streets for nothing

dying in their homes for nothing

when there are flowers

planted right outside my house

& its their color

that makes them beautiful.

Setting a Wasp on Fire

for Jason Ryberg

i think about it

how the roman dead loved their children once

how we’re not special

how flesh burns

just as well in any century

as i aim a grill lighter

straight at the heart of a red carpenter wasp

as crazed drivers venture down the county route

to get their medicine

my grandmother would’ve said

that bee could be the ghost of george floyd

just looking for a torch

so be gentle with death

it is more than just the anniversary

of our bones.

John Dorsey grew up in Greensburg, Pennsylvania and lived for several years in Toledo, Ohio. He is the author of several collections of poetry, including Teaching the Dead to Sing: The Outlaw's Prayer (Rose of Sharon Press, 2006), Sodomy is a City in New Jersey (American Mettle Books, 2010), Tombstone Factory, (Epic Rites Press, 2013), Appalachian Frankenstein (GTK Press, 2015) Being the Fire (Tangerine Press, 2016) and Shoot the Messenger (Red Flag Press, 2017) and Your Daughter's Country (Blue Horse Press, 2019). His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and the Stanley Hanks Memorial Poetry Prize.He was the winner of the 2019 Terri Award given out at the Poetry Rendezvous. He may be reached at archerevans@yahoo.com.