Some days I find myself
missing everyone I’ve
ever known, I’m sorry.
I offer them my mistakes
as recompense.
An indicator of how hard
you were hit
is not necessarily
the colors of your bruise.
like two spread legs
pointing to the future,
there are many ways
to be broken says the bone.

A poet, visual poet, artist, essayist and playwright working in Washington, DC and New York, John Vieira’s full-length collections of poetry include 60 Tomatoes (Bookgirl, 2011), Long Shot (Score Publications, 2005) and Rainfall Data at Ocala (Artemis, 1993). He has given readings of his poems at many different venues–for instance, at festivals on both the east and west coasts including the annual “Lowell Celebrates Kerouac” festivals in Lowell, Massachusetts, at festivals in the South Pacific, at a “Poets Against the War” Washington, DC Reading for Peace & Justice, in bars in Boston, Cambridge (MA), and Washington, DC, at Adams House at Harvard University, at The Writer’s Center in DC, and at The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church in NYC. His writing has appeared in varied publications, including Agni and Rolling Stone. A lengthy essay, “Ecstatic Writing: An Appeal for the Reclamation of Poetry,” appeared in the magazines The Bitter Oleander (USA) and Bongos of the Lord (Japan) and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His art and visual poems have been exhibited at museums and galleries in the USA and abroad, including Artpool Reseach Center (Hungary).