Matthew Berger

1. Imitation Poem

Marie Howe: Part of Eve’s Discussion

It was like the moment when a bird decides not to eat

from your hand
and flies, just before it flies, the moment the rivers seem
to still
and stop because a storm is coming, but there is no
no storm, as when
a hundred starlings lift and bank together before they
wheel and drop,
very much like the moment, driving on bad ice, when it
occurs to you
your car could spin, just before it slowly begins to spin,
like
the moment just before you forget what is was you were
about to say
it was like that, and after that, it was still like that, only
all the time

Part of The Process

It was like the voices asking empty

questions
and questions, just before the truth, bodies continue
shaking
and shake to the core with tears cascading
down flesh
like the memories trying to drop from heads
engrained
in the heads of young and innocent but also old
who struggle
to comprehend just like the time the shots were
fired
and struck, piercing and holding on for
life
just like the time you were suffocated by passion
for nothing
just answer the questions and please remember its part of the
process Commented [DH1]: So what is this the process of?
2. Everyone Jokes Commented [DH2]: Idk if this was intentional, but I read
A time of vulnerability this three times, straight down, just the first lines, and
just the indented lines, and they all said something
a time of different worlds crumbling different but cohesively
Everyone jokes but not I said him Commented [DH3]: Is he just not there? Did he die?
everyone jokes but he was in an exotic place
Surrounded by the texts and pictures
surrounded by the constant jokes aimed at character
He was not here to defend himself
he was not here to protect himself
From them who spit at the feet of friends
from them who tarnished the care that was invested
It is hard to watch
it is hard to watch everyone joke
Even friends
even friends who talked of him as a brother
The constant agony for help
the constant hunger for greed
Battling for bodies that would cross their side
battling like soldiers over a phone Commented [DH4]: Love
Everyone jokes
everyone jokes until they find the truth
Walk a mile in someone’s shoes
walk a mile in my shoes
Different paths will cross again unsure of the future
different paths that once met together
But everyone jokes
but everyone jokes until their gone.

3. Observation Poem

Glass windows surround

The tour guide and its pack that look around Commented [DH5]: Occasionally rhyme feels a little
Soft conversations forced

Creating everlasting relations

Over clashing wheels against the tiles
And in the aisles of smiles Commented [DH6]: NICE
Patterned carpet rested with grey and green
And you must remember to be clean
Stack the plates on the belt
While that girl’s ice cream starts to melt
The clap of a laptop means one thing
It's time to depart to go buy chicken wings
I must go to get my fix
The ABP strawberry lemonade mix