A poem for a poet

a slim manila envelope

from Clemson, SC

in Friday’s mail

it was expected

you bring it in the house

and place on a stack

of folders and books

unopened, because

you know what’s inside

your wife is home

from Pittsburgh

and has her laundry

on the side porch

so you carry Saturday

coffee to the front porch

tear open the envelop

remove a small volume

of newly published poetry

poetry is best digested

a bite or two at a time

over a few days

but this morning you keep eating

and devour all 75 pages

in one sitting

this is bruises, cracked skulls

blood, muscle, two jobs, long hours

hard work, dreams, a storefront church

with a “narthex arch, intended to guide

each communicant’s eye towards heaven.”

this is a novella of verse bouncing

along asphalt and dirt roads

looking for a single wide trailer

to call home

_____

(The COVID pandemic prevents me from hosting a public reading of this slim volume poetry, but I encourage you to purchase and read – ‘Shape The Bent Straight’ by Robert Lee Kendrick, Main Street Rag Publishing Company)

6-20-20