ditch, | the poetry that matters

John C. Goodman

John C. Goodman has lived in British Columbia, Ontario and Newfoundland. He has published a book of poetry, Sounds from the Centre of Water (Lyric) and a novel, Talking to Wendigo (Turnstone Press). His stories, poems and essays have appeared in The Fiddlehead; elimae; Centrifugal Eye; TorkStar; 3:AM Magazine; Dogmatika; Zygote In My Coffee; Hammered Out; Blacklisted; Literary Fever and other magazines in Canada and the US. He is also the editor of Trainwreck Press and recently guest-edited a special issue of Hammered Out magazine of surreal/abstract poetry.

the mathematics of forgiveness in the face

.sound of mountain .reverse

algorithm .clouds do not respond

to threats .

.steam is power under

pressure .relative numbers prefer

still water .

.mist is the power

of sound .

exponential endings .seagulls

hug clouds .relative numbers

of whales in a circle .sea ice

groans .sound is the power

of water .

.life is a maze

of still water .ice noise .death

is a factor of forgiveness .

.threats do not respond

to differential equations .power is

the shadow of mountains .

.silent water .

Thursday 5:47 am

brown water from the tap . sky

. a hazy sketch of pink . brown

mood . black

coffee . hazy sketch of raping

dreams . bullied fair

sleep awake . black

mood . raping water . dreams

from the tap . pink coffee

history lesson

in the corners . where dust

settles . where little angers

hide . needle sharp

lies gather . leaf

shadows wander through

windows . quietly

stirring dust . blurring edges

of anger . mean

dering through

corners . desperate to be

believed . as more light

than shadow . more

grace than conviction