Conversation with Jack

#1
All night we stand waiting for
things we do not fully understand and
are unable to explain to others who see only mist
like checkered freedom and
visions of clean rain
beyond an ocean that lives in
the sky. Out of the short
reach of our stumpy arms, over the rooftops
of our apartment buildings
the
human spirit flies far from the trapped body and
mind it occupies for a few short years.

Offer a place for a stranger in your life, give
them your car keys and see
what route they take. Find out if
they like tortillas or
secretly hope for crop failures. Listen and
want the same as they for something more than 10 minutes
and entire black clouds of insects leave you alone,
they no longer sting and drink small sips
of your blood. You might not notice at first but they do not alter
course. Instead, you move across town or the street without knowing and
immediately see another vision of pure water falling. You do not
become ill or cautious to the point of paralysis. The
panic-stricken days fall from the calendar to the floor.

David Rizzi is a poet / drummer / composer living in Seattle. He reads, performs, and facilitates poetry workshops around the Pacific Northwest. David was the winner of the 1st WordStorm Poetry Competition held on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and a winner of the 2008 Jeanne Lohmann Poetry Prize. He currently performs with a musical / poetry collaborative group, Band of Poets.

His first poetry collection, vibrant city of Bones, came out in 2006. Since then, he has published two other collections: Conversations with Jack, and Declaration. His latest project is a five volume epic tale that deals with a succession of physical and spiritual journeys, and eccentric adventures told from multiple perspectives.