Conversations with Skeletons

Join author Kirk DeMatas on a journey back in time as he visits the seemingly autocratic world of the past in his new poetry collection, Conversations with Skeletons. Written over a three-year period, the poems chronicle the radical reenactment of past experiences-effectively dialogues between DeMatas and other versions of himself. This collection represents a gruelling exercise in psychological dissection through poetic discourse. DeMatas confronts the sources that feed his fears, his anger, his lasciviousness, and his insecurities, all with the hope of finally exorcising the metaphorical demons clutching his soul.

Accompanied by stunning photos by Tosin I. Arasi of TIA International Photography, the poetry written for this collection is occasionally raw, often intense, and always extremely revealing. Conversations with Skeletons collects one man's conversations with his personal skeletons.

Confronting the Grief of Years

On my thirtieth birthday, I woke to the sound

of bones rattling inside my closet.

The vibrations rapped against my naked eardrums

and lured me into the realm of the blues.

My consciousness rode the sound waves like a sea bird

scanning an abyss for some nourishment.

Beguiled by this rhythm, I understood the trap,

just as Josef K. does in The Trial.

I could hear the scratching against the heavy door,

and after what felt like one year, I stood.

My hand became a benevolent dictator,

ushering the darkness into the light.