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                           _________________________________

Ward Kelley

Ward Kelley has seen more than 1500 of his poems appear in journals world wide. He is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee whose publication credits include such journals as: Plainsongs, Another Chicago Magazine, Rattle, Midstream, Zuzu's Petals, Ginger Hill, Sunstone, Pif, Whetstone, Melic Review, Thunder Sandwich, Potpourri and Skylark. He was the recipient of the Nassau Review Poetry Award for 2001. Kelley is the author of two paperbacks: histories of souls, a poetry collection, and Divine Murder, a novel; he also has an epic poem, "comedy incarnate" on CD and CD-ROM.

We are all our own Lazarus, come from the dead
in unkempt shroud, blinking and confused at the edge
of the tomb, uncertain what is ahead, and just what
has been left behind. We are all own Lazarus, unclear

about who has called us forth, and even more important,
why? But it is clear the step must be taken, then the next,
and the next, yet no one ever clearly tells us why. Still
here we stand, in the sun, before a small crowd who appears

as confused as us, or perhaps more awestruck. All
the while something calls us from behind, but it is not
assuring us all will be fine; instead it compels us to go
forward. This is what we will name the part of our

soul who stays: it pushes, pushes, this shaky body to take
another step, take one more, Lazarus go forward, for there
is something you must do, only you can never know exactly
what it is, for you are the one to go, and I am the one to stay.