3 Poems by Allen Seward
a good place
there is no escape.
it’s as simple as that.
no way up, no way down
—no above, no below—
so what do we do with all this useless time?
we live for a little while
and then die—that is the meaning of life.
it’s a sad state of affairs:
being mortal, being human, being alive.
the eyes roll back and see nothing,
but that is to be expected.
might as well get rich if you can,
while you can, however you can.
a little bit of suffering pinned to someone else
means it’s not pinned to you.
that is the meaning of life!
if we were to make the world a good place,
or just a better place,
if we were to make a way up, or down
—an above, a below—
or just some way out,
I don’t think we’d know what to make of or do
with that kind of madness and joy.
my resignation
I’ve been at this for
a while.
too long, even.
I think it’s time for a change.
time to quit? maybe.
god,
I would love to quit a job again.
I’d love to quit a nasty habit.
lucky for me
writing is both!!
so consider this my resignation,
and I’ll see you tomorrow!
some days
there was nothing left but
a few grains of light.
just enough to get by.
but this was fine because we
did not want to go anywhere,
only wanted to sit where we were.
moving was an unnecessary chore.
that’s how it is some days.
other days it’s not so bad.
you have to roll with the punches
to maintain your balance.
it will hurt like hell.
it will leave plenty of marks.
wounds will become infected.
but it will make you stronger
—at least that’s what we tell ourselves.
so when there’s nothing to do
but sit where you are, as you are,
with nothing to you, no weight at all,
remember:
it gets better but
it also gets worse.
it gets more, always.
some days it’s easier
though not quite easy,
and others
it’s a right pain in the ass
that will put you in your grave
if you think about it for too long.
good luck.
Allen Seward is a poet from the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. His work has appeared in Scapegoat Review, Down In The Dirt, and Balestra, among others. He currently resides in WV with his partner and five cats. Twitter: @AllenSeward1 Instagram: @allenseward0