to build a fire [3] by David Harrison Horton

Torch can be a verb,

doldrums cannot.

You are now a linguist,

take care of that knowledge.

It’s not a secret; in fact, it is taught,

but most don’t pay attention.

The language Jesus used

was quite specific, deliberate.

Most lawyers have learnt that lesson;

perhaps some academics.

When I say I am aggrieved,

I can mean it on both accounts.

That I feel like lighting this city up

would only detour the traffic.

So I will eat my grief, and play along.

Another bad lunch in a city full of them.

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David Harrison Horton is a Beijing-based writer, artist, editor and curator. His poetry has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Ethel, Otoliths, Variant Literature, Noctua Review, and Pennsylvania English, among others. He edits the poetry zine SAGINAW. @unionherald