Yes I was an ant in a previous life:
\na brief crawl from the nest
\nand then a brutal stomping.<\/p>\n
But not into oblivion \u2014
\nnot when I had wings
\nand could fly about
\na kitchen until swatted.<\/p>\n
Even then,
\nthere was more of me in store.
\nI still say butterfly
\nthough some may call me moth.<\/p>\n
And then I was an actual marsupial,
\nfollowed by a big cat
\nand a bear, I believe.
\nThere’s a growl deep within me
\nlike you wouldn’t believe.<\/p>\n
I became human
\naround about the time of Henry VIII.
\nI say let a man marry
\nwhom he wishes.
\nAnd I fought battles \u2014
\nCrimea, Boer War \u2014
\nbut you know I can’t remember, for the death of me,
\nwhose side I was on.<\/p>\n
I’ve not been anyone famous.
\nI expect the great leaders, classic authors,
\npainters, musicians etc.
\nare fast-tracked through a different route.<\/p>\n
I just go on one life at a time,
\na little more sentient,
\nmore knowledgeable
\nand hopefully more likeable
\nwith every new version of myself.<\/p>\n
So when you say you love me,
\ndo you mean all or just this instance?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I would prefer that the earth
\nnot be so round.
\nI like that idea
\nof the flat world
\nheld up by pillars,
\nor the shoulders
\nof a giant,
\nor the tough shell
\nof a vast tortoise.
\nI hate the fact
\nthat every journey
\nis toward where I’m coming from,
\nthat the one I’ll meet,
\njust over the horizon’s horizon,
\ncould very well be me.
\nI’m at the point
\nwhere I’d rather just
\ntumble off the edge of this life
\nthan repeat it.
\nIt\u2019s morning,
\na new day, supposedly.
\nBut I know where it\u2019s been.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
JOHN GREY<\/strong> is an Australian poet and US resident. His work has recently been published in The Columbia Review<\/a><\/em>, Homestead Review<\/a><\/em> and Poetry East<\/a><\/em>, and is forthcoming in Harpur Palate<\/a><\/em>, Hawai\u2018i Review<\/a><\/em> and Visions International<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear Lisa from Somewhere in My Evolution Yes I was an ant in a previous life: a brief crawl from the nest and then a brutal stomping. But not into oblivion \u2014 not when I had wings and could fly… Continue Reading
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