"Midnight Writer" by Michael Lee Johnson

Midnight Writer

Put it in writing—circle the poem,
and wrap chords around midnight's throat.
I spin in my night robe,
a midnight dancer, nude in the hush,
I slip across shadows,
in the silver-lit kitchen,
bare as a confessional booth.
Welcome to low IQ theater.
Pour Monarch Gut Rot Vodka in my veins.
Sing a lowbrow hillbilly melody to the dark.
All aboard memory's night train through Indiana cornfields.
Distant foxhounds nestle through memory's fields.
Cornfields, Night Train wine uncorked in the gloom.
Now discontinued, I tumble from the shelf—
Once a high school dropout, a basketball star,
track runner in the dark—
I drift under low-wattage dreams,
lost in late-nighttime monologues.
Curtains fall—low IQ theater.
Writing poems all night until dawn.

~

Published in 47 countries, Michael Lee Johnson is an accomplished poet with eight Pushcart Prizes and eight Best of the Net nominations. He has created 445 poetry videos on YouTube. He is the editor-in-chief of three poetry anthologies, all of which are available on Amazon, and has authored several poetry books and chapbooks. Michael has administered and created 6 Facebook poetry groups. His latest book, Lost Leaves: Short Poems of Nature & Love, co-authored with Irma Kurti, is available here:  https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Leaves-Short-Poems-Nature/dp/9353538386/ref. He is a member of the Illinois State Poetry Society (http://www.illinoispoets.org/) and Poets & Writers (https://www.pw.org/).