Introducing a new series of poems by Julian Matthews. Julian is a writer and Pushcart-nominated poet published in The American Journal of Poetry, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Borderless Journal, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Dream Catcher Magazine, Live Encounters Magazine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and The New Verse News, among others. He is a mixed-race minority from Malaysia and lived in Ipoh for seven years. Currently based in Petaling Jaya, he is a media trainer and consultant for senior management of multinationals on Effective Media Relations, Social Media and Crisis Communications. He was formerly a journalist with The Star and Nikkei Business Publications Inc
Link: https://linktr.ee/julianmatthews
By Julian Matthews
After the awakening, he tried to adjust–
He shunned the fame; the notoriety
When asked for blessings from kin and strangers,
he was at odds as he did not regard himself saintly
nor any holier than before
Nights were the hardest, enveloping and slithery
He hated the smell of linen, blankets were confining–
He slept naked, unwrapped, a dull pearl crawling back
into its shell, away from the baying and clamor
He knew of no heaven nor hell, despite the interrogation
Only remembering the before and the after:
emerging into the light, seeing the relieved faces
of friend and mentor, sisters and brothers
feeling the overwhelming hunger
to be alive, and stay alive
Again
First published in literary magazine The Rome Review, editor-in-chief Michelangelo Franchini.
