Po-Po-Poetry: James A. LaFond-Lewis (National Poetry Month) 2

My Celebration of National Poetry Month * – Po-Po-Poetry continues with this post featuring James LaFond-Lewis (Jim to me).

I met the fine poet James LaFond-Lewis when he was a restaurateur in Boston.  He owned Mississippi’s in Kenmore Square, then in Brigham Circle and finally near Roxbury Crossing T-stop.  It was in Roxbury that I made his acquaintance and he graciously and generously hosted the closing reception of the Roxbury Film Festival for a few years.  We have kept in touch and when he started keeping a poetry blog, I was an avid reader.  He is also quite an accomplished photographer.  Let’s just call Jim a Renaissance man.

In 2016, Jim’s first volume of poetry, The Year There Were No Apples was published by CW Books.  Following are two of the shorter poems in the volume that I like.  I like most all of Jim’s poems.

James A. LaFond-Lewis

A Woman in Love                                      

is a hand unclenched

fingers spread, palm flung open

from the wrist.

out of love

a fist clenched

down to the toes.

>>>>>>

It Just Does

stars explode

liquids gas

dirts harden

sands melt

concretes crumble

knives dull

petals wilt

trees fall

voices fade

eyes blind

skins crack

bones break

brains forget

my heart

leaks

>>>>>>

There is another very fine poem in this volume that I will not share in its entirety but just the ending :

…He is full of hope

And chooses his wife

Again and again and again.

(You’ll have to buy the book to read the beginning.)  Thanks, Mr. Poetry Man.

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Mr. Poetry Man

^About National Poetry Month:  Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month, held every April, is the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets celebrating poetry’s vital place in our culture.