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
When I go,
I’d rather not have people say, Gone too soon.
I’d rather they say, He left right on time,
never overstayed his welcome,
went as he came – headfirst, pushing
through, shoulders high:
a pelvis-rocker, a breach-bopper,
unhinged and released, unstrung
and now deceased.
In relative terms, a contraction or three,
perhaps freed and disentangled in space-time,
driven by a mysterious infectious energy,
affecting, boundless, all-encompassing.
Like a Venetian gondolier slicing through canals,
subverting surface tensions, delving deeper,
under bridges, over currents, constantly oaring,
even serenading – yet never boring.
I don’t wanna be seen as a wannabe when I’m gone.
But a triple-dose of dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin
– that rush when you slow down and try to recall
the way things were, my existence transparent,
shamelessly apparent, a translucent, winged memory
furiously flapping inside, then landing ever so gently,
in slo-mo, to pollinate the bouquet
of your heart.
First published in Alchemy Literary Magazine, Vol 51, USA.
