{"id":2867,"date":"2015-10-31T05:15:45","date_gmt":"2015-10-31T10:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/?p=2867"},"modified":"2020-09-05T03:52:53","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T08:52:53","slug":"ashes-and-excuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/ashes-and-excuses\/","title":{"rendered":"Ashes and Excuses"},"content":{"rendered":"
Three Poems by<\/h5>\n

Joseph Roque<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Ashes<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

\n

Ashes and Excuses<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Our ashes
\nwill define us, carried by wind
\nand water, sing our beginning
\nrequiem our end, guarantee our
\nhistory with scribbles on cave
\nwalls, mark our small place in
\ntime, leave a faint trace —
\nmellow memory of who we were
\nfor those that follow us.<\/p>\n

Now, we swirl recklessly, lifted
\nto whatever heights we please,
\nfall to earth again as whispers,<\/p>\n

unencumbered, wild and free–<\/p>\n

stubborn,
\nadamant, afraid of
\nnot a single damn thing.<\/p>\n

\"Ashes<\/p>\n

Poisonous<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Apathy walks with an umbrella–
\nSPF 50 constantly applied,<\/p>\n

in summer, stays cool beneath
\na canopy of sullen smirks,<\/p>\n

in winter watches wickedly
\nas homeless turn to stiff and blue
\nice on the streets of New York.<\/p>\n

Immortal, it does not fear
\ncantankerous righteous, does
\nnot give way to heroes on
\nwhite horses, or suffragettes
\npointing fingers.<\/p>\n

Brazen.
\nIndiscreet.
\nGluttonous.
\nIndifferent and aimless,
\nit strolls casually unafraid<\/p>\n

through our daily lives\u2014<\/p>\n

the perfect agile tourist with
\na photographic memory
\nfor everybody’s misery.<\/p>\n

\"Ashes<\/p>\n

Speak<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

I will not be another
\ntalking head with an opinion.<\/p>\n

I will speak only what I
\nknow is true for me–<\/p>\n

love exists somewhere,
\nperfectly hidden,
\nholds limited auditions
\nfor those who understand
\ncommitment.<\/p>\n

It will save me if I find it,
\nso I will try\u2014unafraid,
\nhopeful. I will forfeit every
\nsingle thing I own until I<\/p>\n

find that fairytale made just for
\nme, the one that always ends in
\nperfect pitch, perfect harmony.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Joseph Roque<\/strong> is a husband, father, and grandfather with a passion for poetry. His work has been published in several ezines and poetry publications, including: Aphelion, Silver Wings Magazine,<\/em> Madswirl.com,<\/a> A Tender Touch and A Shade of Blue,<\/em> Ragmag.org,<\/a> A Long Story Short, Psychopoetica, Cerebration, Eunoia Review, Censored Poets, The Poet’s Haven, Death Head Grin,<\/em> Zygoteinmycoffee.com<\/a> and Pens On Fire.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read all poems and prayers by Joseph Roque at Faith Hope & Fiction<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three Poems by Joseph Roque<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[152,131,52,15,97,124],"class_list":["post-2867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","category-uncategorized","tag-apathy","tag-emotion","tag-fear","tag-love","tag-poem","tag-spiritual"],"yoast_head":"\nAshes and Excuses | Faith Hope & Fiction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/ashes-and-excuses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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