People Circle Overhead
— a poem by Joseph Osel

strange to be so quickly crushed
the forces of right and real and gone too soon
turning toward distress, despair, delirium.
broken by ordinary dreams while
staring at stars.
strange that yesterday arrives today, that
the plants and aphids change partners endlessly.
an old woman used to live in that house up there;
if an animal was on the road she’d run it down
with her Oldsmobile—she said it
was “bettah-forum.”

roads lead to common destinations.

and tonight a young man rides in the back of an
ambulance, five holes in his lonely chest,
body becoming cadaver as the
ambulance slows in pace,
turns off its lights.
strange that tomorrow arrives today, that
the plants and aphids change partners endlessly.
strange the resiliency of the last reprieve.
strange that the people circle overhead.




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Joseph Osel is a critical theorist, poet and Editor of Imperative Papers. He is the founding Literary Editor of The Commonline Journal, the archivist for Radical Critique and a Contributing Editor for its international auxiliary journal.