David Wheeler is a musician, essayist and poet. He’s produced an album entitled “There, There” and his writing has appeared at the Burnside Writers collective, The Morning News, the Pacific Northwest Reader (an essay collection) and The High Calling. He blogs at Dave Writes Right.
His first collection, Contingency Plans: Poems, published in 2010, was named to the Longlist of the Indie Booksellers Awards. This poem is taken from that collection.
Awake! Revival
And once these modern day fatigues are burned
we’ll start undrawing drapes and leave them piled
against the empty bureau drawers; unfiled
manila documents; disturbed, upturned,
and potted plants; corroded lanterns; urns
that spill their contents; shattered marble tiles;
and hardwood planks misshaped and warped; all while
we dress in tails for me, and you, couture.
Our drowse abandoned altogether there
is left to blaze along with everything;
and, we in motorcade display arrive
atop the high-rise over everywhere
to see the beacon light and rising string
of smoke from our unraveled former lives.
Related:
Talking with David Wheeler, interview at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
The Real Wonder of Writing is Alchemy, interview at The High Calling.
An Interview with David Wheeler, here at TweetSpeak Poetry.
Review of Contingency Plans at Faith, Fiction, Friends.
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- Poets and Poems: Trish Hopkinson and “A Godless Ascends” - August 4, 2026
- Poets and Poems: Sarah Dickinson Snyder and “To Eve” - July 16, 2026
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