There are many other possibilites. The busy homeworker sees more washing up to do. The cat sees something to knock over. The lovers see something to share. The conspiracy theorist sees that the water was drugged, and the glass had a gun and was on the grassy knoll. The racist believes that the glass will be stolen by immigrants. […]
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Parents Night Emma used to do real good in school her mother tells her new teacher. It’s Parents Night at Ryland Elementary. Mostly mothers in attendance. What’s the problem, her mother asks. Fifth grade shouldn’t be hard for her. Emma’s never had a grade lower than a B, her mother says. Teacher says Emma doesn’t do her homework and talks a lot in class. Her mother can’t believe it. Says her […]
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Into White Love was the heart nestled in soft, white sheets, beating with beauty, and glistening with rays of life. Love are the lights in a mother’s eyes as she brushes the hair of her young daughter and then takes her by the hand to lead her daughter into the world outside, protecting her with her mighty wings, but […]
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Checkpoint Lurching, they bluster – ghouls into the chasm. Fierce lava, blowing, nullifies their fall And dissipates harsh gravity’s concussion, Forces a seething screen of phoenix cowardice, Leaping to swell Into a fresh, mendacious crust, Tripping and throttling the led Into a smear upon pure metamorphic beauty. The skeleton’s jaws yawn apart; A stranded mountaineer was frozen At his prime […]
Read moreRocky the Raccoon On a cold winter night the raccoon eats pecans under the tree. It keeps its distance or rather I keep mine. I can hear its sharp teeth grinding on the paper shell. Wild! It stops. So I pick one up off the driveway and toss it its way to show the world can be kind even […]
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Connections Sheen caps ground rails Soaking harsh sleepers To rattle mud-flounced trains. Drizzle dusts, Grinding against itself, Sparking the tracks’ sheen With casual exasperation; Blinding the gravel Kicking in panic Against the basalt of its being. The lifeline Brine polishes ground cliffs, Moss-padded in their cavities, The waves of muscle buffet, Abrade the penciled rocks, Cowl […]
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Everybody Don’t Have Somebody The man in the ER, sutured and bandaged, told the nurse there wasn’t anyone she could call to give him a lift home. He said he’d take a bus once he had a chance to check his wallet and see if he had any money. He didn’t have much to begin with, he said, and the […]
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Travelogue Voyagers no longer disembark at decayed seaports, piers rotting where sturdy ships once docked delivering the wealthy the hopeful, travel plans replaced by accommodating airlines getting us to destinations so quickly there’s no transition between coming and going, just adaptation to climate change, time change, when we conclude our journey. This poem is part of a collection […]
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Untitled In a chow hall In a prison Hangs a painting dressing the back wall Of wilderness facade A lake to brood upon its frown Promising freedom with pale-crowned mountains Creeping land and dismal clouds Mocking me…feeding hope (one would think) But I see only imprisonment of […]
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Electro-Magnetic Love She said – you are my current, my three-pointed plug Yet I am the wound flex; the wiring behind the walls is mine – When I say ‘Halt!’ go no further; the wiring is dislocated from you The very suggestion of a movement of current, a sense of desirability Is itself physical. You place shields […]
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