Featured Poet: Ryan Douglas Roth

Good morning, today’s feature is Ryan Douglas Roth, an incredible poet I met through the Rebirth submissions. Check out some of his poetry below, you can find more within the anthology. He also has a book out, which I will include links to at the bottom.

Wind and Sea

With her toes rooted in the carpet of my room,

My friend is swept away by some autumn wind.

It takes the rest of them, too,

Somewhere I see, but cannot find.

The breeze whisks them all away,

Across the surface of the troubled water.

A sea they don’t see, under which I stay,

Detached from the Air Prince’s daughters.

When the undertow pulls and the waves roar,

They don’t even know the overwhelming force.

The slightest whisp, and away they soar -

The wind takes them, like they had no choice.

The water feels heavy, and the currents rough,

I find no others here in the quiet deep.

But the ocean is warm as the flow stills to a touch,

An aquatic embrace, that rocks me to sleep.

I Thought We Were Friends

Ghosts don’t haunt these barren ruins;

Arid winds swept their howls away,

Exposing, desiccating their fragile tombs,

Until nothing at all remained.

The carnation that grew beside the grave,

In which we took so much delight,

When we admired it blooming brave,

So exposed, so frail, so bright -

Though it seemed we admired it so very long,

I realize now, it was never there,

And your bones are dust, your ghost is gone -

I just wish I didn’t care.

In his career, Ryan has worked as an Historical Researcher and, more recently, as a Research and Data Analyst in the social sciences for both government and private sector. His fascination with philosophy, religion and politics energizes the themes in his writing, which tend towards the mysterious.

You can find a copy of Here No Evil here https://a.co/d/5kWvVPy