Poetry

David Francis

Seasickness

Before the tunnel was built
we crossed by ferry.
The sea was choppy.
It was December.
We met a few passengers,
peers on the journey;
and though it wasn’t that long,
with the rolling sensation
from head to toe of the innards
retching like waves inside us,
it seemed an eternity.
Then we were in the metro
and the ticket counter closed,
early gray Sunday morning;
we walked down an unknown street.
A woman came up to us,
reached in her purse, smiled, and handed
us a roll of tickets.
That is all I remember.

David Francis has produced six albums of songs, one of poems, and “Always/Far,” a chapbook of lyrics and drawings.  In 2008 the publication of his essay “Utterance and Hum: The Difference between Poem and Song” led to a lecture tour of the UK.  In addition, he has written and directed the films “Village Folksinger” (2013) and “Memory Journey” (2018).  His poetry and short stories have appeared in a number of journals and anthologies. “Poems From Argentina,” his first collection, is forthcoming from Kelsay Books.