JeanMarie Olivieri

 

JeanMarie Olivieri

 

Midnight

 

Midnight is where truth and lies become one.

 

The Zen and when of Midnight

is the razor’s edge between times,

a space outside of (right) now:

not today, not quite tomorrow.

 

The face and the place of Midnight

is a dark night and a thin veil

between the natural and other.

 

The little ones and old folk

are tucked up tight.

Midnight is occupied

by witches and lovers,

preachers and writers.

You know — all the cool kids.

 

If I could live my life 

60 slim seconds at a time

let it be at Midnight.

 

 

 

The Season Of Slumber

 

The bed beckons yet I resist the call.

The small hours are the sweet spot

for data mining and creative play.

 

Hypnos and Somnus spin dream yarn

and weave phantasmagorical stories.

of monkeys in bookstores

and fish singing opera.

 

I am not willing to read them in darkness.

Many travelers have succumbed

to slumber at midnight and risen

in bright light, far from home.

 

I prefer to wait for sunrise

to end the night, then take my rest,

unafraid of where I may wake.

 

 

 

Around the Clock

 

The twelve-hour clock is as cruel as April

for the night dweller.

Did Airy know his Greenwich Mean Time

would be my undoing?

 

My eyes do not open until noon

with is neither a.m. or p.m.

The truest meridian is midnight.

 

Time is a state of mind.

Morning is when I make it.

Brunch is always at two. 

Where is my coffee?

 

JEANMARIE OLIVIERI

 

JEANMARIE OLIVIERI of North Carolina, USA is a writer, editor, and poet who believes that poetry tells us truth about the world that prose cannot. She is an active member and co-organizer of the Living Poetry meetup group in NC’s Triangle area. She has been published in several poetry anthologies and online journals and has served as a poetry editor for the Heron Clan poetry anthology for three years.