Steven Sassmann
3 Poems

*Sassmann is considered a graphic text poet, so JPEG images of the poems follow each of the poems in their preferred format.

Distillation

She painted with words
little pictures of time
charity’s mixed blessing
mimes a crime of paradigm
little riddle in the middle
hiding sly behind the rhyme
we could always almost see it
but if’s too far to climb
barely half of an hypothesis
sprung from a lucky guess
brighteyed rainwashed cleanfaced
naked truth from muddy mess
from down last down deep down
back way on down past past
up the secret up steps up
beyond the far up forward fast
an apple grape or apricot
she swings us low the vine
with paintings of words
little pictures of time
the bee stings it sweet
but she makes it wine

Once Were Stars

We are woven in the fabric of the day
sparkling strands of stardust suspended
in sunrays in a picture window
like our cigarette smokes
twine in silent change
slow drift surprise
we thread a design
plaited here in silence
into the pattern of time
the warp and wept of arms
we’re knit into the sweetness
i’m spun in the siren hunger
trembling in her smile
a child is coming

Flowerchild

is life a song
climbing the mountains of sky
swimming the light of the moon
high in the blue light of dawn
drunk on the red light in dusk
i harvest the grains of the wind
back back across the many-rivered sea
surfing the tidecurrent season
we leap through the horizon
we sing across the countryside abloom
each blossom more beautiful than last
freshet choirs of petals pollen nectars
the egg the seed the germ sing life
tomorrow demanding today but
i feel the tug of the Polestar back
the shift of light
calling my children
home

 

Steven Sassmann is the author of seven books of poems and poetry.  His next book will be out in Spring 2019 from Spartan Press.  His is published in magazines like Chiron Review, and in anthologies like Men in the Company of Women, by online magazines like Wingposse Art, and has done a series of poems on High Plains Public Radio.  Steven has evolved a new style of poetry which uses large font Interior Titles, innovative punctuation and color.  He aims for brevity and wit, and favors content over style and form.  He draws a distinction between poems and poetry and usually writes unintentionally.  He writes for the nonAcademic—who may need poetry most.  He lives in Smith Center, Kansas with his wife, Mary.

Samples of his style can be seen in his Facebook Photo Album: Big Red- https://www.facebook.com/steven.sassmann/media_set?set=a.10212229604568966&type=3

or in the Album: A Series in Red- https://www.facebook.com/steven.sassmann/media_set?set=a.10209246844241822&type=3