S. LIAM SPRADLIN - POEMS

S. Liam Spradlin writes poetry and fiction. He has recently taken interest in writing poetry that goes beyond a hobby or pastime. His works have appeared in Scarlet Leaf Review, theSongis,Tuck, Degenerate Voices, Dissident Voice, Sequoyah Review and other journals and anthologies. He lives with his wife and published author Kim D. Bailey.

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​Dilemma 

​I feel the stare of the naked sun 
Boiling into my brow. Everywhere I
Turn there is only seething
Wasteland. My spineless toes bleed
Footprints into the rotted sand. The soles of my feet 
Burn a fiery orange hole across the blank sky. 
 I stop to rest. A red scorpion runs 
Under my gasping sweat and hides in my  shadow
While I swallow the last portion of forgiveness
From a rusted canteen. My jagged lips are filled 
With grit and piercing  sand. I can’t manage 
Enough saliva to spit. Nor enough will power to 
Dig my own grave. I sit down on what remains of
A human skull . I can barely make out the word 
“Wretched” scratched in the dust. I gash my eyes with
Cactus but the Locusts would not come .
 I shake the devil's fangs from my shroud 
And cough bitterness back into desert
Air and begin. 

Somewhere on an Island ( (For Deborah ) 
​

​Somewhere on an Island
There is a girl more
Captivating than the rising
of Merapi. Somewhere she listens
 with a quiet smile as  September
Introduces the season of rain.
Somewhere on an Island she hums
Songs in her heart, that release
Tender emotions from her tired
Eyes. Somewhere on an Island, she
Laughs with friends over a
Cup of hot chocolate when
The valley air turns cold. Somewhere
On an island an entire village people
Stop their labors as she welcomes
Them with her smile. Somewhere, she
Lies under the light of the sky's biggest
Pearl and dreams far beyond
The straight seas. Somewhere she
Sits squeezed  between her children as
They jump and yell ( sometimes pray)
For their favorite teams to win. Somewhere
On an Island, she reads her books until her
Eyes are too heavy to open. Somewhere she
Falls asleep with those same books upon
Her covers. Somewhere on an Island ,
A village girl reads these words, not
Knowing they are written for her.
Somewhere on an Island, she gently folds
This letter and places these words between
The open pages in front of her. Somewhere
On an Island, a seasoned Elder nods as
The last light goes out in the kampung .
Somewhere the night frost climbs  on mountain
Summits. Somewhere she sleeps.
Somewhere she dreams of waking-
Somewhere on an Island. 

​Alone 

​The heavy night is gone.
Birds chirp their bright harmonies of morning.
Wet grass tickles my feet
A month of bugs dive around me
But today there is no thread
Things that crawl , buzz , sting, jump ,and hop
Are already consumed in perfected daily routines
I remember carving our initials  in the trunk of a shade tree
I touch the bark
I put my fingers in your name
Our Love has grown
What once belonged to the
Mocking Bird
Sways causally in the soft springy breeze
One last cricket plays encore to the flight of the butterfly
The lazy morning stretches
Its shadows among the tulip garden.
I am awake
But I am alone .