Three Poems

by DeMisty D. Bellinger

War Chant

Tell us about
America
When it was palatable.

Sing to us
In perfect bass
Vibrato quaking
the ground beneath.

Plait our hair in
Perfect well-
Greased rows and
Rubber-banded ends!

Oh, tell us about
The America
We now fight for.

Funereal Ice Cream

It was almost too cold to listen or meet,
But in our wool suits and heavy dresses,
Vanilla ice cream has never tasted so sweet.

We awaited the preacher to bleat
His sermon through breathy stresses.
It was almost too cold to listen or meet,

Still we sat through eulogist’s praising treat,
the widow’s sobbing, her child’s messes
Vanilla ice cream will never taste so sweet.

The children looked towards a later feat,
Afraid for their own future egresses
It was almost too cold to listen or meet.

The casket was removed from its seat,
By bearers who emerged from the recesses,
The thought of vanilla ice cream never so sweet

And we, congregated rose, hugged our fellow mourners,
Promised to visited the gravesite in spring, but now
It was almost too cold to listen or pray.
Then, vanilla ice cream has never tasted so sweet.

Love during Unrest

You lean towards me and
I’ll lean towards you.

You pass by me: go over;
I’ll pass by you.

You’re slick by me
I’m rough like clotted oils
Tarnished patina
I imagine grasping on:
Little nappy hairs at the nape of your neck
Little curls clinging on—

You’re lean like arrows moving towards or away
I’m leaning like Eros, but bent away.

You lean towards me and
I’ll lean towards you.

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DEMISTY D. BELLINGER TEACHES BOTH POETRY AND FICTION WRITING IN MASSACHUSETTS AT FITCHBURG STATE UNIVERSITY. SHE HAS AN MFA IN CREATIVE WRITING FROM SOUTHAMPTON COLLEGE AND A PH.D. FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN. HER FICTION AND POETRY IS PUBLISHED IN MANY PLACES, MOST RECENTLY AT THE MILO REVIEW AND KALYANI MAGAZINE.