Doug Holder

Doug Holder is the founder of the Ibbetson Street Press of Somerville, Mass. His poetry and articles have appeared widely in the small press including: Rattle, Poesy, The New Renaissance, The Boston Globe Magazine, and most recently in "Inside the Outside..." a major anthology of American Avant-Garde Poets (Presa Press). He holds an M.A. in Literature from HarvardUniversity, and his taped recordings of interviews with contemporary poets are archived at Harvard and BuffaloUniversity libraries as well as at the Poets' House in New York City.

The following works are copyright © 2008. All rights reserved. No distribution or reprinting in any form whatsoever without written permission from the author.

  

Beginning, Middle and End, But Not In That Order
 
I want to begin
In the middle
So I begin
To see the end.
And isn’t the end
A beginning anyway?
 
As Beckett wrote:
“We are born astride the grave.”
So in this beginning
Perhaps my accumulated debts
Can be prepaid.
 
And to start in the middle
In the very thick
Of things
To be rid
Of the awkward introduction
And the sad farewell—
 
And then go directly
To Heaven
Or perhaps, to Hell.

  

More Skeletons In The Closet
 
I don’t need a closet anymore
I need a storage space.
 
I have so many bones to pick.
 
The meat is barely off
The brittle arc of ribs.
 
I need a fast shipment
To a cold, cold storage
Deep in the underground locker.
 
I know the skull’s
Leering, frozen visage
Will eventually hold court
And I will be held accountable
For what these bones taught.

  

A Well Seasoned Gossip
 
She peppers each statement with:
“Not that I care.”
And then ever so casually
Runs her fingers through
Her well-coiffed hair.
 
Yes, she is not above
Rubbing salt into
That gaping wound.
To kick a good man
When he is down.
To compare
His serious efforts
To that of a clown.
 
She may try
To curry your favor
Bringing you into
Her exalted confidence.
After all
You are one of her ilk.
You listen as she slays her victim
As smoothly as silk.