Poetry Monday: Montgomery Maxton

If you want to read original, edgy, surprising writing, check out Montgomer Maxton's blog and website.

Here's what he says about the genesis of his writing: "I have no idea how I come up with my work; I just do; like the Nike slogan, Just Do It, so I just do. Perhaps it’s based on life. Perhaps it is not. Mother Teresa sums it up best for me … 'God is the hand, I am just the pencil.' Except replace God with something a bit more logical, like Emily Dickinson’s spirit or Charles Darwin’s clone. And replace pencil with black Compaq laptop or Bic pen on the Chipotle napkin."

Leave it to MM to call Emily Dickinson's spirit or Charles Darwin's clone "logical." Such MM sentiments make the world feel fresh.

Recently I was especially struck by MM's desire to not be "afraid" of language. He's really onto something here. Fear drives the internal critic, who tells us what we're writing is dumb/not worthy/----- [fill in the blank]. I know that to write in honor of my uniqueness I need to work on letting go of the fear as much as possible. Easier than it sounds.

Below are two of MM's poems: "Moon Landing" and "Surviving the Body." To read more of his work, click here.

* * *

Moon Landing

The home haunts
the abused spouse.

The rain is
a master of disguise.

You walk the dog
to get the mail.

You never think about
conspiracies until

They are before you
in newsprint

at the barber shop
that’s open on Sunday

Because any other time
You are too busy

To consider Kennedy,
9/11, Roswell, or

If Walt Disney really is
a block of ice.

* * *

Surviving the Body

we lay against each other
exposed by flesh and soul –
water droplets forming between us.

we made love all night –
it’s six o’clock in the morning
i said looking at the clock on the windowsill.

traffic outside was waking to
steamy coffee and weekend editions of
popular newspapers where,

if they knew,
we would be the front page –
two scandals trying to find relief

in one suburban bedroom,
a touch in a town that
doesn’t know how to touch.

this moment will survive
our bodies.
i want to whisper into your ear.

* * *

About Montgomery Maxton:
Montgomery Maxton was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1980 and raised on a rural six acre estate in southwestern Ohio. He is an award-winning journalist. His poetry and prose have appeared in various print and online publications. He is also a photographer, activist, painter, and lunatic. He is the artistic editor of Limp Wrist , an online poetry and art magazine launching in late 2007. He divides his time between New York City and Columbus, Ohio and is working on his first novel and second collection of poetry.