For Late Admirers
I see the exiled poet
standing at the edge
of a roman city
waiting for hungry lions
eastern dragons
or dagger-carrying women
to immortalize his work.
too late
to praise lyrics.
a lifetime lived
to hear nothing.
your words are spit
on flowers planted
next to white stones.
I see your secret fear
you cannot face the elephant
or remind our countrymen
that faith is an Art
lost and found
by souls
standing their ground.
now is too late
to worship our work
and ponder clever clues
to your sorry existence
please do that your damn selves
we do not die to leave instruction
we die to leave you.
Mark Antony Rossi’s poetry, criticism, fiction and photography have appeared in The Antigonish Review, Another Chicago Review Bareback Magazine, Black Heart Review, Collages & Bricolages, Death Throes, Deep South Journal, Ethical Specacle, Deep South Journal, Flash Fiction, The Magill Review, Japanophile, On The Rusk, Purple Patch, Sentiment Literary Journal, The Sacrificial and Wild Quarterly.
