Three Poems

by Scott Thomas Outlar

Ampere

Now the night is a blanket woven of fur
my heart is a moon hung soft with whispers

Headlights echo the same spark as stars
it’s such a shame how these gods toss their dice

Wheels are designed to keep turning by nature
records weave liquid seasons through plasma

Three winds charged, one electric
now the night is a storm without end

Without Leash

Mellow is the fog hanging heavy with persuasion
all the doves are cooing near the edge of absolution

but nature doesn’t forgive without a bite

One more dance of light behind the optics of transcendence
curtains fall in layers pulled by wishes best kept silent

but dogs continue barking and chasing stars

Silver is the tongue babbling chaos in the blueprint
digging in the trenches for a shelter from the fallout

but blind decrees are riddled by the fools

Callback

Who hears the echo?

Bells toll
for thee

Ring-ring
it’s a three-ring circus

Carnivals bark, bite,
chase the ghosts from my bones

bleed the marrow

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Scott Thomas Outlar hosts the site 17Numa.com where links to his published poetry, fiction, essays, interviews, reviews, live events, and books can be found. His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Outlar was a recipient of the 2017 Setu Magazine Award for Excellence in the field of literature. Selections of his poetry have been translated into Afrikaans, Albanian, Dutch, Italian, French, Persian, and Serbian. He has been a weekly contributor for the cultural newsletter Dissident Voice since 2014. His most recent book, Abstract Visions of Light, was released in 2018 through Alien Buddha Press. His show, Songs of Selah, airs weekly on 17Numa Radio.