William Taylor Jr.

 

Fight Them

Honey there's no shame
in joy

what with death
and all her henchmen

forever at our heels

lying in wait
at every corner

honey break the rotten
world in two

scrape out
whatever's left
that could still
be any good

it's yours as much
as anyone's

fight them for it.

The Edge of It

Each day she wakes and throws herself
straight into the fire of the world,

the dark and terrible heart of it,

embracing the chaos,

taking its laughter
as her own.

She says its the only way
she knows to live.

I follow as far as I am able

and then wait here
at the edge of it

holding her things.

 

William Taylor Jr. lives and writes in San Francisco.He is the author of numerous books of poetry, and a volume of fiction. His work has been published widely in literary journals, including Rattle, The New York Quarterly, and The Chiron Review. He was a recipient of the 2013 Kathy Acker Award, and edited Cocky Moon: Selected Poems of Jack Micheline (Zeitgeist Press, 2014). His latest poetry collection, A Room Above a Convenience Store, is available from Roadside Press.