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
If I was Noah, I would have pulled up at Camp Mystic
asked every child and counselor to get on the Ark
They would be happy to get on board to play with all the animals
“Watch out for the white-striped snakes and those tiny blue frogs,’’ I’d say
Ham, my youngest, will uncage the capybaras, kakapo and mousedeer
We’d have fun sitting on the wooden floor and drawing, colouring
and maybe even writing poetry about “all the creatures great and small’
We’d imitate animal sounds, sing campfire songs and clap and cheer
At night, we’d gather around and contemplate the stars
and tell scary ghost stories and fairy tales with happy endings,
and watch their bright and beautiful eyes slowly shutting,
and we’d lay them on the cosy hay, under warm, shared blankets
to dream of times when warnings were always heeded,
when foreknowledge was an accurate weather report,
when the rising oceans were mitigated, when rivers never raged,
when the waters were placid as a baby sleeping tenderly
in a sacred mother’s arms, silent and still as a sculpture,
eyes without vision, ears without hearing,
lips that never spoke
but said so much
Note: On July 4, 2025, a flash flood of the Guadalupe River hit the all-girls Camp Mystic, Texas, and 27 drowned including 25 campers and two counselors. The youngest was only eight-years-old.
First published in Writers For A Cause literary magazine, Issue 2:The Fight For Tomorrow, USA.
