“…And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.” 

~ Nietchze, Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146

solus

this somnolent night

we sleep with doors open

when the void stares back

we do not stir

our body as solus

our shadow – the empire

our hearts – the color

of fire

W.D.H.:  “This poem was written May 10, 2020 for Ahmaud Arbery.”

columbia

capitol hill

rites of empire

suffering

     in stone

shaping 

a consortium 

     of one

beat

by beat

by beat

capitol fantasy

language for hire

     and a little blue flag

still things, still lives

waiting to rise

unlike anything

ever seen before

W.D.H.:  “Prior to the Statue of Liberty in 1886, the image of the goddess Columbia was widely recognized as the female personification of the United States. This female statue sits atop the dome of the U.S. Capitol Building and her imagery appears in the poetry of Phylis Wheatley. Like the Capitol building were current legislation is made, The Statue of Freedom was cast by enslaved men. 

Quirank

the country extends itself deep

it ebbs and flows beyond Quirank

which needs no description

but whether deep enough to salvage

the very excellent and good

we expect palpable conjecture

W.D.H.:  “Quirank is the name the Powhatan natives gave to the present-day Blue Ridge Mountains. This found poem was derived from a text written by the first English colonizers of Virginia in 1607. These scenic descriptions were republished in The Virginia Historical Magazine, Colonial Papers, Vol. I, 151., pg. 374 in 1906.”

Bio: Wayne David Hubbard is an author and educator. His work appeared in Button Poetry and The Wild Word magazine. His first book Mobius: Meditations on Home was published in 2020. He lives in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. Find him online at waynedavidhubbard.com