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People Act

By Jesse Matas
people act
as if they are not the soil beneath them
 
a man walks
with his head in his phone
 
he is holding dirt
he is happy, anonymous, well fed
 
plants throw themselves at him
and he pulls his coat collar to his cheek
 
a ducky smell
creeps up the doorstep
 
people act
as if they are not rotten leaves


A Note

By Jesse Matas
I ascend the staircase
in vanishing shoes
 
my handface turns
to the wooden landscape
and its palms burst
with sudden direction
 
branch bound in polymer,
a whole life at desks
underwhenever a note
asks
              and asks
                           and asks

Tock Stop

By Jesse Matas
Snake cradle
innocuous dock talk
open to alternate water levels
               (and being loved by them)
 
bona fide tide talk
counter-counter tock stop
​pull us all together
               for a night


Jesse Matas is a father, husband, poet, musician, visual artist and peace scholar. His poetry can be found in Contemporary Verse 2, Fourth River, The New Quarterly and EVENT, among other journals. Tamarock, his most recent album, received international acclaim and was named best album of the year by three radio shows on two continents. He has recorded four full-length albums and has toured in eleven countries. He is from Treaty 1 territory and lives with his partner and kids on the Haldimand Tract, land that was promised to the Six Nations of the Grand River. He is a current candidate for Master of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Waterloo.
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