Two poems by Fabrice B. Pousin
Repent Regret Plead
Bodies lay in the smoky scenery
flies enjoy an undue repast in the sun
scents have vanished in the foul air
in his uniform the little man grins
his lieutenants mimic his gaze to flatter.
It is true that he will live in infamy
his mustache charred in the fire with his kin
before the noose tightened upon his neck
the bullet burnt into his guilty flesh
the poison traveled the evil veins.
They speak so many tongues
bearing the same message to win
at any cost the fear of those poor masses
unable to retort with the simple words
empathy, love and care for their brethren.
Armed with holy books, rifles, and bombs
they fill coffers for a decaying posterity
dressed of dark tones, followed by mourning
their names always the same in battle
though their courage may be nil.
They dress, they lie, they scream their needs
against the will of the greater number
but they laugh with their entourage as they see
those who prostrate just for another breath
before them, tyrants fed on ill and hurt.
Celebration of Life
It is now 2052, and I have packed my bags
with memories and few belongings
left me after years of confusion.
It was not such a terrible ride
but it did lack in some crucial parts so
I must ask why we should celebrate this existence.
Yesterday still I was walking alone to this bed
barely noticed by the many who lined the walls
of a forgotten institute, prison in sterile walls.
After the light meal they offered under cover of
a two-hundred-and-fifty-dollar daily tab
I lay myself to sleep watching sci-fi.
I saw strange-looking citizens all
dressed in similar garb, without smiles, without
fear, without feelings, I am certain of this.
I recognized many with whom I crossed paths
but they did not seem to notice my presence in the room
no love lost in this odd construction of a world.
The last twenty-four hours mirrored decades on
this earth, but a few uncommon moments when
another saw me as a friend, a partner, a lover.
This tale has long been forgotten and I have lived
in the cold carcass, mercilessly without a sound from
the one I so loved, so I go, in peace, in silence.
You understand there is no need for a celebration
of a life no one has been aware of for all this time
just let me be and forget that I ever was.
Dr. Fabrice Poussin is a professor of English and French. His poetry and photography have appeared in Kestrel, Symposium, The Chimes, and hundreds of other publications worldwide. He is also an advisor at The Chimes, an award-winning poetry and arts publication at Shorter University. His recent poetry collections In Absentia (2021), If I Had a Gun (2022), Half Past Life (2023), The Temptation of Silence (2024), and Forgiving Me for Dreaming (2025) were published by Silver Bow Publishing.