Julian Jason Haladyn


Rental Property in Poland

So much time has gone by since the war
cold nights in a house
               with a mud floor and

I spent the night in the back
a man came at me with a knife

to build a house for yourself
without a second thought
               as to the materials and

he came at me with a knife where I slept
I barely escaped with my life

suite cases and motorcycles with sidecars
photographs that prove paternity
               beyond a reasonable doubt and

he had a really nice motorcycle
maybe 75 horsepower

I barely escaped from the house
a man with a knife
               wanting to kill me and


Leaving Soon

Continually late for dinner
Birds sound the setting of the day

Paper rustles and a weird humming noise
makes me believe in time travel

Dinner passes with family portraits
Castings made of each vegetable

Coming to terms with my need for a view
the table watches as the drinks are spilled


Intaglio Landscape 42 x 142 (Cart in the River)

travel is almost over
home close but I am not quite there
still                      so many leaves on the ground
                              so many birds mating
even though it is summer

bottles carried in from the horse drawn carriage
a few fall along the way
left by the river banks
amongst             the bright green leaves
on                         the bright green grass

laughing the driver says
she says she’s stuck with the horse in the river
a wheel               maybe caught on a rock
or                          maybe stuck in the mud
the dogs of the town stop to gawk

I can see home but am stuck in the river
still                      waiting for the horse to pull
                              waiting for the landscape to move
bottles shining in the green grass
she says she’s laughing at the birds



Julian Jason Haladyn is a Canadian artist and writer. His poems have appeared in, among others, apt, Ditch, Elimae, Istanbul Literature Review, Identity Theory, Laika Poetry Review, Otoliths, and The Southernmost Review, as well as the collection Nuit Blanche: Poetry for Late Nights (Toronto: Royal Sarcophagus Society Press, 2007). His poetry book 17/13 was published by Blue Medium in 2007 and his chapbook Convulsive Hotel Dreams was published by Trainwreck Press in 2008. In addition, Julian has published collaborative critical articles and reviews with Miriam Jordan in Parachute, Broken Pencil, C Magazine, On Site Review, and a chapter in Stanley Kubrick: Essays on His Films and Legacy (McFarland and Company 2007).

 
 
 
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