by Jeffrey Burghauser (August 2025)
To God, a naïve, sŭpplĭcátŏrў prayer.
____Relentlessly Vehement Kisser
Of Those who are Strangers to Kisses: declare
____That nothing of silver, of Swiss her-
________Mĭtáge semidarkness, of North or of South,
________Shall forfeit my right to Your mouth.
–
O Bed of the Trustful: invite me to bed
____While there is still time for some slumber—
While there is still time to commune with the dead
____Appearing in topaz & umber.
________O Dusty Proscenium’s Floodlights: define
________The mise-en-scène’s évĕrў line.
–
O Nonchalant Cóntrăctĭng Party to Whom,
____Alone, the Unbreakable Contract
Is Legible: softly preserve me from doom
____The dignified, elderly don tracked
________From Genocide’s sodden, voluminous ditch
________To some neurological twitch
–
Or spell of abstraction experienced by
____A half-shaven man at his mirror.
Preserve me from selling my soul for a sigh.
____The Father of Lies, cavalier ĭr-
________Rĭdéntist, considers with devious art
________My mind, having taken my heart.
–
To God, a naïve, sŭpplĭcátŏrў verse.
____Relentlessly Generous Tender
Of Those who are Strangers to Tenderness: nurse
____With lullaby-whispers & slender,
________Experienced fingers ideal as a ghost,
________What, in me, might need it the most.
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Jeffrey Burghauser is a teacher in Columbus, Ohio. He was educated at SUNY-Buffalo and the University of Leeds. He currently studies the five-string banjo with a focus on pre-WWII picking styles. A former artist-in-residence at the Arad Arts Project (Israel), his poems have appeared (or are forthcoming) in Appalachian Journal, Fearsome Critters, Iceview, Lehrhaus, and New English Review. Jeffrey’s book-length collections are available on Amazon, and his website is www.jeffreyburghauser.com.
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