Random Acts of Silence
My mother has characterized my birth
highly inauspicious
the lunar antithesis of some anticipated
cataclysmic event.
She has bluntly recounted over time
my forthcoming’s secondary nature
void of fore-thought, reason
preparation or rhyme.
My modest realm distains those systems
enviously circling about my head.
My throne extinct of thunderous extrusions
quietly rests in place of known dread.
Impacted by her guided missives
pervasive, static, devolved dreams
I don’t perceive myself
abandoned in place.
I’ve learned that our celestial roles
eternally designed as mother and child
are remarkably complex;
uncertainty expressed as deflection and grace.
We have grown to share a vision
reflecting when need arises
resigned to revolve
ebb and embrace.
.
Renga the Yard
Quiet coos midnight breeze
as fluttering wings silently alight
the swatch of black sky
The incessant roar of wheels
navigate streets and sub terrain
The fox strolls downtown
her cosmopolitan gait churns
desire to quench thirst
Pee Wee stokes passerby banter
eyes dilate beneath neon signs
Machine gun sax blows
hot lead engorges an arid vein
Bird staggers earthbound
The gypsy plucks his Cheshire cat
strums acoustic incandescence
Blackbird swings inside
flush-cheeked dreams consume the fruit
the viper offers
Lady Day always loved the Lady
deftly creased in noteworthy pork pie
After hours sessions
no name whiskey straight or rocks
our intoxication
Dispersed by dawn’s arrival date
the metronome resets home
Bio
Nicholas Abanavas received his M. Ed. in Teaching At-Risk Students in 2008. He recently retired from a career in public education. He has written two books: Scissors, Cardboard & Paint-The Art of At-Risk Teaching and Lemnos-An Artist and His Island. Mr. Abanavas is an avid fan of jazz music. He was born and raised in New York City and is a graduate of Peter Stuyvesant HS, NYC. He has lived in Greenwich Village, NY, Hattiesburg, MS, Atlanta, GA, Kansas City, MO, San Francisco and the San Joaquin Valley, CA. The experiences that accompany these places form the foundation for the subjects of his poems. He has been writing poetry for more than fifty years.
