‘A Slice of Eden’ and Other Poetry by G.M.H. Thompson

A Slice of Eden

A mango tart broke my heart dark one stormy day
because it said I’d be dead if I touched its glaze,
& lotus cake made me ache late one luckless night
because it cried when I tried taking one small bite,
& once when I slyly spied baklava at tea
a coffee pot boiled and shot liquid hate at me;
exotic sweets, foreign treats,— everything I need
has ever turned sour and spurned sweetness when I plead,

thus I may try homemade pie, ice-cream, toast & jam;—
perhaps this ash shall dispatch dreams of saffron yams,
yet I’m afraid marmalade, cookies, honey buns
cannot erase tropic tastes you left on my tongue,

& so I’ll search all the earth’s xanadus for some
patisserie half as sweet as your blandest crumb.

A Third Note from a Distant Admirer

My limbs are prisons & my mind’s a tomb—
I only know that I must write to you,
for that’s the only thing I know is true
as Himalayan snow or Spring’s first bloom
eternally recurs, so too my words
desire to grow like roses at your door,
since every shell will find its destined shore
& every message shall in time be heard
& every wrong be transformed into right
& every villain change into a pope
& every darkness blotting every hope
be banished by the laughing face of light,—
just so I feel compelled to sing you songs,
though it may seem a bit antique or strong.

M. H. Thompson was born on February 15, 1990, at about 12 in the morning, in a hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.  G. M. H. Thompson received a B.A. in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on the twelfth of May, 2013.  G. M. H. Thompson is currently the singer/songwriter/rhythm-guitarist for the rock band Thee Oswalds.