Dan Provost’s poetry has been published throughout the small press for a number of years. He is the author of fourteen books/chapbooks, including in 2021: Darting In and Out, published by Alien Buddha Press, A Fistful of Ponies released by Raw Earth Ink Press, and Foundations of Cheap Penance, published by Dead Mans Inc. He is a three-time nominee for the Best of the Web and has read his works across the United States. He lives in Berlin, New Hampshire with his wife Laura and dog Bella.
Head Held Low
From your first step
at age 32
You’ve held so much anger in
for the gods, and
dreamt of bigger heavens.
Halls of hallowed.
But back you went to
the char, to the pain of
stick figure arms and legs.
And shadows still bend
at angles of swollen
screams.
Daily Records
Dutifully, I walk
up to the third floor.
Ignoring the dog, the trash
that has accumulated during
this depressive episode.
Look up cures on the internet,
Boldy, call myself an idiot
for even trying to
find hope.
Chastise existence—one
sigh at a time.
Then work the keyboards,
trying to express magic
in the dark
in the dank
shining asylum.
