I finally understand how we can study poetry in classes. The aim is to try and understand connections between the author, the reader, and the text. As an author of poetry I always have something in mind when I write…. an image, a concept, a theory, a story. Yet I will never tell you what that story was because your life experiences will never allow you to understand that story the same way I do. I can only hope you find the way which the things embedded in my poetry may manifest themselves in your mind to create your own understanding of my words.

// Untitled Poem (written just now)//

Never before did this creaking porch make sense to me.
Yet now,
miles from the blazing humidity of sweet tea summers,
there is something beautiful in each creak I find.

Doors swing open,
only one hinge remains.

Cramped taxis stop,
claim theirs room for one more.

Children spill candy,
meant to sell, not to eat.

Old folks play poker,
in the street-corner sun.

And everything in this world is as it should be.
And everything one street away is backwards.
I understand that creaking porch,
only when I long for it.

// In Control//

You, my brother, carry the weight
of this hot and heavy summer sun.
Relentlessly it pursues you;
or rather, the shadow you embody.
Yet it cannot seem to gain any ground.
Maybe it is your short stature,
such that it drapes painfully over your shoulders
only to find the workload on your back.

Wipe your brow, my brother.
At the top of that hill you will find
yourself standing taller than the sun.
Shade once longed for
must succumb to your boasting chest.
Breathe in deeply, my brother,
and bring relief to those who follow.

-Michael McKnight
05/30/12

Sure, it’s an early call,
One that wakes you from the inside
because it’s tugging frantically at last night’s mistakes
and all you can do is lay there mindless.
No snooze button,
more like a “You Lose” button.

“Y asi es la vida”
Life goes on unimpeded
especially for everyone else around you.
Chances are you won’t cross paths again,
because this world
expands senza fine.