John Grey




SPLITTING THE


the tree and the longing
terrified of some shade
its veins for a while
bulging the moonlight
with sea water even
after death a great
dragging war sea the
neck of a canoe around my
capsized root and this
ground still trying
beginning to tangled hair
move more to water
a sea so close to laid
out turning back I rake
the dead this yard can
hear the flow of stones
over those whitewashed
leaving even you
would sleeve the remembering
of thrown sleeves of watched
memory of moons even you
would leave of sleeves
you still whitewash throw
off these stones those
arms can hear the flow
the dead rake this turning
back on stones so close
to sea water laid out on
my tangled sea move hair
and this ground still trying
to begin to take root capsized
and around canoe my neck war
the sea a great dragging
water this tree sea toward
death bulging with even
after veins death terrified
the moon for a while
the tree some





John Grey is an Australian born poet who has been living in the United States since the late 70's. He works as a financial systems analyst.