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).