Poetry & Art by Derry Van Nortwick
WEEDS
It is not hard to accept that
you are better off without me hanging round
Driving in smokey cars
Crashing through morning
Hard enough
To have had a friend, who now
Rather not care for me at all
Your vanishing is not so easy
For me
Most likely I wore you down
If you ever return
know I have pulled the weeds from my garden
USED BOOKS
a young weirdo is exciting
an old weirdo is creepy
getting older and less understood
painting the walls in alienation blood
girls don't smile
reflections odd shaped
extra around the waist
in a used book store
I passed by
a lady in 70's
this is where
we end up
HOOKS
Enticed, you came to the hook
It was a weekend in summer
We walked; we had time — enough to burn
A little wine passed on a damp park bench
Not much to say
not knowing
Only a couple times since has the day stood for me
As it did then
your future flints speak of light that rest
without warmth between day and night
Your divorce was fresh
And your loneliness unsettled the mortar
That held every piece
Of what needed to be kept together
We kept on going
dogs barked
A golden ring held us — from sky to earth
And you are old enough to know
the last train is running
We all walk these tracks
they bend towards the horizon
but don’t bend back
Derry Van Nortwick is an artist, musician, designer, and writer born in Hollywood, CA, who currently works and resides in the San Diego, CA area. His visual works use themes of mirrored or double images, paneling, and repetition, which all create surprises unknown until constructed, in which multiple worlds may be occupied simultaneously in mind, body, and spirit. His recent collection, Mind Passing Through, is a mix of drawings, paintings, collages, photography, and poetry created during summer 2021. His artwork recently was featured in WordSwell literary journal. You can visit him at derryrobert.com.
Additional Links:
