May 5, 2022

Poems by Robert Fleming

THE TRUTH GROWS UP AND SIDEWAYS

the hyperion sequoia sempervirens California tree grows 316 feet up
the graviplant German tree grows 140 centimeters sideways
one day the horizontal trees will grow to the vertical trees and
make a trunk bridge over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans
not today
today the up and down trees reach for the sun-rays
today the side-by-side trees recline into hammock lies


**

the longest word

pneumonoultrami-
croscopicsilicovol-
canoconiosis


**

deforestation
arteriosclerosis
photosynthesis


**

petrochemical
overutilization
apocalypse


**

organization
proletarianism
everybody


**


your love for me
my love for me
toxic waste dump


**

tenor troublemaker
anti-establishment con
ruckus turbulence


**

frying hamburger
grease puddle forms in the pan
screaming Patti melt

Poem by Stephen Bett

Novel Lines 101:  101 alphabetical poems, each riffing on the opening line of a postmodern novel or metafiction. Antonio Lobo Antunes, Act o...