like dogs fucking in the
middle of a dead-end street
like a river filled with corpses
moving through the desert
our gift to the future
can only be failure
our belief in our own greatness
has always been
our biggest mistake
listen
none of these pious whores
who offer to bless you
are your friend
no songs matter more
than the silences they fill
the same has always
been true of prayer
Bio:
John Sweet sends greetings from the rural wastelands of upstate NY. He is a firm believer in writing as catharsis, and in the continuous search for an unattainable and constantly evolving absolute truth. His latest poetry collections include A FLAG ON FIRE IS A SONG OF HOPE (2019 Scars Publications) and A DEAD MAN, EITHER WAY (2020 Kung Fu Treachery Press).