Notes From The Bonfire: Poems In The Age of Coronavirus is Matt Nagin’s third poetry collection, a multimedia extravaganza, with photography by Andrzej Jerzy Lech and illustrations by Natasha Yearwood.
Notes From The Bonfire is Matt Nagin’s third poetry collection, a multimedia extravaganza, with photography by Andrzej Jerzy Lech and illustrations by Natasha Yearwood. In March of 2020, Matt came down with coronavirus and wrote these poems during the five weeks he was trying to recover. They cover a range of subjects, although the overarching theme is the dystopian suffering unleashed by this global pandemic. The book includes work previously published in Gravitas, The Organic Poet, and Poetry In The Time Of Coronavirus. Finally, the book is called Notes From The Bonfire for a number of reasons. One of those is we're hoping the cataclysmic fires of 2020 can be transformed into more of a purifying, celebratory bonfire. Additionally, the hope is that a few notes can be salvaged from all the wreckage, the chaos and destruction, that can make all we’ve endured more tolerable.
Excerpt
When The World Ended
Do you remember when the world ended?
The final rug got pulled?
A crust of bread was dipped so gently
in the magic bonfire?
Is it clear to you now
that there is no need to pretend?
Are your hands within mine
as the cliffs implode?
Do you remember?
Really remember?
Alone, tired, broken in
half by countless dances
with death—smushed—
evaporated—sent back—
crumbled—taken up
from the inside.
Do you know how
lonely it gets inside
the belly of the wolf?
Is there a candle
left to burn as
all the stars go dark?
Will the child keep screaming
when there is no one
to answer his call?
Do you remember?
Really remember?
Do you remember when
the world ended?
My book of poetry is being redone by me, I have a beautiful cover designed and the book will have a few more than 200 poems in it. I am going to have it printed on demand here in Canada. When it is done I will let you know when it is done and if anyo
