Every Poem is a Catastrophe by George Moore

George Moore has published poetry in The Atlantic, Poetry, Colorado Review, North American Review, Valparaiso, and Orion. A finalist for The National Poetry Series

Richard October 13, 2021 2 min read

Every Poem is a Catastrophe

by George Moore

We write these on the invisible
and they nest between us like a mask

or a voice speaking through a screen
They are always silent screams

every one of them feathered
by the lightest hand

but somehow bold as a tagger’s spray
Some are like the church choirs

or an object we find in a museum
and the moths play havoc with them

for they are filled with dichotomies
Everything in them is

of the nature of a religion
but the size of a message found in a bottle

or written inside a bottle cap
They are the saints on gum wrappers

the scriptures written on a thread
every one of them a catastrophe

of human care
a line drawn through a word

like a spear through its prey
a smudge of someone’s blood

the tongue of a page
the chain to an anchor

we have dragged through a life
that we sail day to day

George Moore has published poetry in The Atlantic, Poetry, Colorado Review, North American Review, Valparaiso, and Orion. A finalist for The National Poetry Series and nominated for seven Pushcart Prizes, his collections include Children’s Drawings of the Universe (Salmon Poetry 2015) and Saint Agnes Outside the Walls (FutureCycle 2016). He presently lives on the south shore of Nova Scotia.

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Richard Everywriter (pen name) is the founder of EveryWriter and a 25-year veteran of the publishing industry. With degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology, and Education, Richard has dedicated two decades to teaching writing and literature while championing emerging voices through EveryWriter's platform. His work focuses on making literary analysis accessible to readers at all levels while preserving the rich heritage of American literature. Connect with Richard on Twitter Bluesky Facebook or explore opportunities to share your own work on ourSubmissions page. For monthly insights on writing and publishing, subscribe to our Newsletter.