Hearts of old gods
by Peycho Kanev
I am seized by the shadows
of the altar’s stones,
by the weight of the centuries
between the sanctified arches;
I am always under the laurel leaves,
spat out by the passing hands,
by the heads of sheep
under the blue-green of the fig-tree,
close to the morning rocks
and grizzled sparrows,
and by women, saying goodbye
to their soldier’s sons;
I am always between the kingdoms,
I am always between the cities
demolished just like the cloudy skies,
always in this air of withered leaves,
and always there,
where the spring birds
nest in the eyes of the gods.
_______________
Peycho Kanev is the Editor-In-Chief of Kanev Books. His poems have appeared in more than 500 literary magazines, such as: Poetry Quarterly, Evergreen Review, The Monarch Review, The Coachella Review, Third Wednesday, The Cleveland Review, Loch Raven Review, In Posse Review, Mascara Literary Review and many others. He is nominated for the Pushcart Award and Best of the Net and lives in Chicago. His poetry collection Bone Silence was released in September 2010 by Desperanto Publishing Group. A new collection of his poetry, titled Requiem for One Night, will be published by Desperanto Publishing Group in 2012.
