"Poetry is the art of using language to transcend language." ~ Laurence Overmire
Featured Poems by Laurence Overmire
And God Made a Poet
There need to be people
toiling on this Earth
for whom money
is not the Bottom Line
those who see
beyond the moment
the temporal frame of inhuman
nature
to lead with voice of spirit
and marked uncommon sense.
There need to be people
toiling on this Earth
for whom money
is not the Bottom Line
those who see
beyond the moment
the temporal frame of inhuman
nature
to lead with voice of spirit
and marked uncommon sense.
Refugee
To have no home, no place to go
To be without—identity.
Nothing in a pocket
Shoes without laces
Time too much to spend
Grieving.
Hope hanging from a noose
In a stranger’s hand.
How does the heart survive?
Where is the kindness that kills
The dogs of war?
The fires have burned to ashes
Smoke rises without flame
And the future is a long, cold night lost
Alone.
To have no home, no place to go
To be without—identity.
Nothing in a pocket
Shoes without laces
Time too much to spend
Grieving.
Hope hanging from a noose
In a stranger’s hand.
How does the heart survive?
Where is the kindness that kills
The dogs of war?
The fires have burned to ashes
Smoke rises without flame
And the future is a long, cold night lost
Alone.
The Iranian Girl
There’s a hole in the ground
A moving of earth, now made
A sad depression
Where once she played in
Puddle-rain
Splashing with the joy that comes
From child-like feet
The sound is still here
In the air, the breeze yet carrying
The secret laughter
That haunts the waking hours of those
Who’ve lost the way
How vain to think that
Memory can be erased
All will remember
No one escapes
I wonder if she saw it
The moment before
Her hair still flying free
The metal catching that last
Pure glint of sun
Did she hear the explosion
That made no sense
Did she feel
Her body come apart
And fall like dust, too soon
Does anyone ask
Whatever she felt, whatever she dreamed
Her dreaming time is gone
And no lofty word of God or
Glory will ever make it right
Dare to listen and you will
Hear her
Dare to open your eyes and see
The Iranian girl
No different
Like you, like me.
There’s a hole in the ground
A moving of earth, now made
A sad depression
Where once she played in
Puddle-rain
Splashing with the joy that comes
From child-like feet
The sound is still here
In the air, the breeze yet carrying
The secret laughter
That haunts the waking hours of those
Who’ve lost the way
How vain to think that
Memory can be erased
All will remember
No one escapes
I wonder if she saw it
The moment before
Her hair still flying free
The metal catching that last
Pure glint of sun
Did she hear the explosion
That made no sense
Did she feel
Her body come apart
And fall like dust, too soon
Does anyone ask
Whatever she felt, whatever she dreamed
Her dreaming time is gone
And no lofty word of God or
Glory will ever make it right
Dare to listen and you will
Hear her
Dare to open your eyes and see
The Iranian girl
No different
Like you, like me.
Lightning from the Genome
99.9% of our genes are identical
One human to another
What difference, then is
One-tenth of a percent?
Enough to justify
Hatred, jealousy, contempt
War?
In one-tenth of one percent
We lodge the miseries of the
Human race
Proclaim ourselves better and
Best
Conquer and divide
According to divine rights of
A primitive mind
Unable to distinguish
Reason from insanity.
99.9% of our genes are identical
One human to another
What difference, then is
One-tenth of a percent?
Enough to justify
Hatred, jealousy, contempt
War?
In one-tenth of one percent
We lodge the miseries of the
Human race
Proclaim ourselves better and
Best
Conquer and divide
According to divine rights of
A primitive mind
Unable to distinguish
Reason from insanity.
Quasimodo: To Esmeralda
i look into your eyes
and see the stars
burning quietly
in a midnight sky
and i am humbled.
what hope have i
to rein a winged foal
dancing on a distant cloud
chasing the maiden moon
as she scatters her delicate veils
of luminous dust
on the sleeping earth below.
what hope have i
disfigured and alone
who cannot speak
and dare not feel
you will not hear the silent voice
that clamors in a trembling heart
you will not see the man
imprisoned by the shackles of his soul
you will not know
me.
i leave you now
lift your voice to the wind
run free
brave spirit
we never meet again
but i have looked into your eyes
and glimpsed the stars.
i look into your eyes
and see the stars
burning quietly
in a midnight sky
and i am humbled.
what hope have i
to rein a winged foal
dancing on a distant cloud
chasing the maiden moon
as she scatters her delicate veils
of luminous dust
on the sleeping earth below.
what hope have i
disfigured and alone
who cannot speak
and dare not feel
you will not hear the silent voice
that clamors in a trembling heart
you will not see the man
imprisoned by the shackles of his soul
you will not know
me.
i leave you now
lift your voice to the wind
run free
brave spirit
we never meet again
but i have looked into your eyes
and glimpsed the stars.
Online Poetry of Laurence Overmire
13th Warrior Review
A Little Poetry
Art Villa
Badosa Library (Spain)
Blue Fifth Review
Boloji (India)
Bolts of Silk
Courtship of Winds
Eclectica
Enchanting Verses Literary Review
Gaiam
Gangway (Germany)
Genius
Hinterland Online (Toronto, Canada)
Jack Magazine
ken*again, the literary magazine
KotaPress Poetry Collection
Lynx: Poetry from Bath (England)
Miller's Pond Poetry Magazine
Moongate Internationale
Niagara Falls Poetry Project
Panic! Poetry (Brixton, South London, England)
PoemsAbout.com
Poemhunter
PoetryMagazine.com (International Digest of World Poetry)
Poetry Nook
Poetry of Scotland
Poetry Pacific
Poetry Shelter
Poets International
RE:verse Poetry
Short North Gazette
St. Olaf College Campus Ecology
Stirring, A Literary Collection
Subtle Tea
Swans
Thanal Online (India)
The Hold.com
The Inditer (National Library of Canada)
The Patient Ox
The Peregine Muse
The Potomac--Poetry and Politics
Tryst
Unlikely Stories
Web Poetry Corner (International)
Webstatic
A Little Poetry
Art Villa
Badosa Library (Spain)
Blue Fifth Review
Boloji (India)
Bolts of Silk
Courtship of Winds
Eclectica
Enchanting Verses Literary Review
Gaiam
Gangway (Germany)
Genius
Hinterland Online (Toronto, Canada)
Jack Magazine
ken*again, the literary magazine
KotaPress Poetry Collection
Lynx: Poetry from Bath (England)
Miller's Pond Poetry Magazine
Moongate Internationale
Niagara Falls Poetry Project
Panic! Poetry (Brixton, South London, England)
PoemsAbout.com
Poemhunter
PoetryMagazine.com (International Digest of World Poetry)
Poetry Nook
Poetry of Scotland
Poetry Pacific
Poetry Shelter
Poets International
RE:verse Poetry
Short North Gazette
St. Olaf College Campus Ecology
Stirring, A Literary Collection
Subtle Tea
Swans
Thanal Online (India)
The Hold.com
The Inditer (National Library of Canada)
The Patient Ox
The Peregine Muse
The Potomac--Poetry and Politics
Tryst
Unlikely Stories
Web Poetry Corner (International)
Webstatic