Alive by Jason de Koff

The absence of life sucks the soul from the night,

and the banter is fine but I’d rather not think

of the time that the chatter was too much for my mind,

and couldn’t handle the voices giving up their divine

ideas on the best way to live and the life

that should give the best beacon of light

to show others you’d won, but where is the fight?

Instead, send the boundaries hurtling off

and be the maker of methods that finally work,

lending ear to the voice of the ones on the street,

making noise in the hallways that rival the beat

of the pounding of pavement that keeps it alive.

Send the sheets to their grave where they’ve always belonged,

creating space to add sound to the others’ lost song.

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Jason de Koff is an associate professor of agronomy and soil science at Tennessee State University. He lives in Nashville, TN with his wife, Jaclyn, and his two daughters, Tegan and Maizie. He has published in a number of scientific journals, and has over 80 poems published or forthcoming in literary journals over the last year. Twitter: @JasonPdK3