the bleeding horse at sea

By John Sweet

the bleeding horse at sea

and then it turned out
that the trick was just to
give in to depression, and of course
i felt like a fool for not realizing   
                                 this earlier

i sat there in an empty house
listening to water run down the walls

sat there listening to
the starlings in the attic

thought about my oldest boy

about all of the apologies i owed him

kept wishing i was asleep
until my alarm clock
woke me up the next morning

.

About the Author: john sweet, b 1968, still numbered among the living.  A believer in writing as catharsis. Opposed to all organized religion and political parties.  His latest collections include APPROXIMATE WILDERNESS (2016 Flutter Press), BASTARD FAITH (2017 Scars Publications) and the limited edition HEATHEN TONGUE (2018 Kendra Steiner Editions).  All pertinent facts about his life are buried somewhere in his writing.