She stands here in haste,
Waiting for the rush of home,
But it lacks a place.
He found his way home
And learned home was not there or
Where or even home.
Now, both lie in wait
For something like victory
To give them their own.
J. Chester Johnson has recently authored St. Paul’s Chapel & Selected Shorter Poems (2010); Now And Then: Selected Longer Poems (2017); Auden, the Psalms, and Me (2017); and Damaged Heritage (2020). American Book Review said of his 9/11 poem about St. Paul’s Chapel (NYC): “Johnson’s ‘St. Paul’s Chapel’ is one of the most widely distributed, lauded, and translated poems of the current century.” Select venues/outlets: New York Times, Carter Center, Washington National Cathedral, BBC, among others. One of 15 writers selected for inaugural Harvard Authors’ Book Fair (2019), Johnson was educated at Harvard/ University of Arkansas (Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2010).