October 22, 2014

Two Poems by Byron Beynon



THE NIGHT CAFÉ
after the painting by Vincent Van Gogh

The after midnight atmosphere
with immobile customers
ruined by drink,
the nightmare of blood-
red walls, the white
clothes of the landlord
standing near
a green billiard table
with the growing shadow
threatening away time
on the floor-boards;
the terror which makes
the night more beautiful
burning under
the demon-yellow lamps.




LABYRINTH

The frustration of his past
is the message
I tune into.
Trying to decipher
the crossed lines
I think of a seam
miles west of here
where he breathed
inside a maze of legends;
sweetened roses,
invisible perfume
emanating from death
flowers filling his cushion of air.
A hacked face
unravelled his strength,
a puckered rendezvous
already conceived
in poison and dust.






Byron Beynon's work has appeared in several publications including Poppy Road Review, London Magazine, Poetry Ireland, The Spoon River Poetry Review, The Blue Hour and Kentucky Review. Collections include The Sundial (Flutter Press), Human Shores (Lapwing Publications, Belfast) and The Echoing Coastline (Agenda Editions).

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