Three Poems

by David Harrison Horton

Ode to the Rebar Crew

(In which the weather was perfect for a bike ride)

There are workers up and down

the block again.

Construction never ceases

in this city.

One is complaining loudly

about his need to get laid.

It has been a long while

apparently.

Ode to Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa Cough Syrup

(In which the morning swimmers got into the water)

The neighbors are complaining

about random shit

in the group again.

Whose dog pissed in the elevator?

Why does it smell like kerosene

and boiled beef?

In another group,

one friend is posting

Doobie Brothers songs

like this is the first time

he’s heard of them.

Of course, I’m writing my manifesto

and just biding my time,

trying to count

the many masks Death wears.

Ode to Cragg Valley Coiners

(In which he made a pot of tea)

Ray is moving to Hanoi,

and Nick is coming back from Glasgow.

It’s the annual attrition

and adjustment

of friends.

Anthony says, once they leave

they are dead to us,

but I still write the occasional letter,

and make plans to couch crash

sometime in a vague, imagined future.

Woodie Guthire reminded himself

to keep the hope machine running,

but it needs fuel

to keep itself going.

Marco

the past is a dead place

Polo

Polo

Polo?

BIO: David Harrison Horton is a Beijing-based writer, artist, editor and curator. He is author of Maze Poems (Arteidolia, 2022) and Necessary (forthcoming from Downingfield Press in 2025). His latest chap, Model Answer, was released by CCCP Chapbooks/subpress in 2024. His work has recently appeared in The Belfast Review, Roi Fainéant, Verbal Art and Yolk, among others. He edits the poetry zine SAGINAW. davidharrisonhorton.com