Poetry by Tohm Bakelas

Gerry Dincher CC




to wherever crows fly

October ended. November  
rushed in with warm embrace.  
The autumn world smelled  
like spring. Deciduous trees  
stood rank against property  
lines. What leaves hadn’t yet  
fallen were falling. A blanket 
of colorful decay covered the  
ground in orange, amber, red, 
and brown. Only the crows 
remained, begging for death 
to fall into their laps. And when 
nothing fell, they flew away, 
to wherever crows fly. 
And you, standing alone, 
watched white clouds like 
smooth river stones 
skip across the 
expansive 
blue sky. 





​and it’s beginning to rain

driving 80mph through the 
setting autumn sun, 
there’s something 
about the way 
sinking sunlight 
hits power lines on a 
deserted county road 
that slightly softens 
your beating heart, 
like a sort of magic, 
like seeing the eyes 
of the woman you love 
after a few days of 
being alone.

yet, right now, 
this feeling can’t 
be enjoyed.

you’re lost in your head again, 
seeking answers to questions
that can never be answered, 
questions that persist 
amongst fading memories 
of cold years gone by. 

and at home, gazing into black twilight, 
there are no shooting stars to wish upon,
no clouds and no moon, just pitch-black, 
and it’s beginning to rain. 

​



simple song

beer foam rising in the bottleneck--
another missed chance to drown 
some ants, but in the winter 
there are no ants, there is 
only you. 
 
springbirds return early to thaw 
their wings in the sun, they sing 
their songs from wet branches, 
they sing their songs for you.
 
confusion is universal 
when the worm dies 
on salted concrete,
when you lose
your purpose
to reality.

don’t let this happen.

find love and let it in. 

​


Tohm Bakelas is a social worker in a psychiatric hospital. He was born in New Jersey, resides there, and will die there. His poems have been printed widely in journals, zines, and online publications all over the world. He is the author of twenty-four chapbooks and several collections of poetry, including Cleaning The Gutters of Hell (Zeitgeist PressPress, 2023).  He is the editor of  Between Shadows Press.