Between disparate beings

WARD KELLEY

I was not meant for the society
of the human, not that I do not
adore human beings; no, that is
not what I would imply,

but rather, I was not meant
for the responsibility of diffusing
human warmth from recipient
to bestower; I was not meant

to be the conduit of warmth.

I know now I am a conduit
of expression, something far
different from warmth; for
I must express the keen relations

between disparate beings, father
and mother, mother and child,
lover and lover, this lodestone
of intuitive thought that was meant

to pound and pound through these odd
pages until I have utterly finished myself.

Ward Kelley has seen more than 900 of his poems appear in journals world wide since he began publishing in 1996. A Pushcart Prize nominee, Kelley's publication credits include such journals as: ACM Another Chicago Magazine, Rattle, Ginger Hill, Sunstone, Spillway, Porcupine Literary Magazine, Pif, 2River View, Log Cabin Chronicles, Melic Review, The Animist, Offcourse, Potpourri and Skylark. He has been honored as featured poet for Seeker Magazine, Physik Garden, Poetry Life & Times, and Pyrowords. Recently he was the recipient of the Nassau Review Poetry Award for 2001.