Michael Simms

Bio: Michael Simms is an American poet and literary publisher. His most recent book is American Ash. His poems have been published in literary journals and magazines including 5 A.M., Poetry Magazine, Black Warrior Review, Mid-American Review, Pittsburgh Quarterly, Southwest Review, and West Branch. He is the founder and editor of Vox Populi.

What Holds Us Together Keeps Us Apart

Dragon’s Blood
I dream of a forest in heaventhick stands of American AshAmerican Chestnut American ElmSaint Helena Olive and of courseThe Great Sequoia
And on a nearby islandDragon’s Blood Treesoozing red resincinnabarwhich tinted the violinsof Stradivarius The Fabric
The loss of each species diminishes us tears at the fabric andthe news is too much with us
The bees in their hives are dying the manateesliced by a motor bladebleeding in the shallow cove where her kind have lived since we were human the forestsof Amazonia are burning
We are burningWe are dying Shoes
There is something in the American heart that wants to destroyeverything beautiful
The dirty child at our borderwho walked 500 milessharing a pair of shoeswith her brother
And wehave no pity we have no shamewe refuse love and howcould we how could we wantsomething different thanlove?

Darlin'

I like it when women I don’t knowCall me Darlin’. There’s somethingKind and generous in the tone
Without being sexual. The intimacyOf strangers is luminous, the wayWe wish well for the man who lost
His car keys, the woman coming inOut of the rain, the girl who missedHer bus, the boy who stutters.
The waitress who offers more coffeeCalls all the men at my table darlin’.She may be somebody’s wife,
Somebody’s mother, somebody’sFriend, but right now, to usShe’s the intimate stranger
Named Dolores, which means sadness,Inviting us with a smile to have dessert.You want me to alamode that
For you, Darlin’?

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