JONO BELL

Death of a radical poet.

The essence of your past presence,
lingers my dear.
A echo of your last whisper,
is all I hear.
Memory tips the balance,
of my mind.
The truth very often is just too cruel
to be kind.
All I have are the words you left.
A bluffers guide for the dearly bereft.
Words that unravel mysteries.
Words with forgotten histories.

I read your poems under pain
of death.
I celebrate knowing you
under my breath.
Mourning you releases serotonin.
Serotonin frees a white dove.
That flys against all conventions,
just as you did my love.
All I have are the words you wrote.
That jump out of the page and grab my throat.
Words so  joyful and triumphant.
Words that show how a life's spent.

They burn your books, spit on your grave.
Try and discredit every speech you made.
And I the coward you loved will deny I ever knew you.
For I have memorised the poems that keep me with you.
And all I have are the words you wrote,
that dance off the page and provoke.
And I the coward you loved will still deny I ever knew you.
For I have memorised the poems that keep me with you.
And all I have is what you left words that sting before they caress.
Mourning you releases serotonin.
Serotonin frees a white dove.
That flys against public opinion,
just as you did my love.
And the essence of your past presence,
still lingers my dear.
*************************Jono Bell©2018

Jono Bell, in addition to being a fine poet, is also the Jono in Jono & The Uke Dealers and a member of the best ska band in the universe, the Two Tones. You can find out more about Jono and his excellent music at www.jonoandtheukedealers.com