Category: Belonging / Loneliness
-
Benevolence
You gave at home, in church, on the playground, at team practice and in fights after school. You gave in the backseat, at the office, the drunken party and for a worthy cause. You stole kisses, hearts and candy. You stole time, again and again and again. You threw it away. You disbelieved. You tried…
-
pen pals
My two older sisters had pen pals they’d talk about when the mail came I’d steal into their room to read the letters and pretend they were my friends I wanted a pen pal but was afraid no one would want to be my friend if they knew I had a speech impediment, hummed constantly…
-
AARP
—
by
The retired Pied Piper tried to forget What he did to village children Sat on a park bench and thought There was much to learn from a pond: The way it does not flee away to the sea The way reflected clouds and trees don’t pollute water The way a stone will skip before it…
-
a narrative poem
she said, “I’m leaving” he asked, “Why?” she said, “You’re too pessimistic” he said, “I told you statistics say we were doomed to fail” she said, “I’m still leaving” he asked, “Why?” she said, “I can’t live with a fortune teller” 10-24-21
-
17 grains of beach sand
bright green child’s shovel lost, alone…awaits high tide to swim out to sea 10-22-21
-
how about you?
sharp Fall mornings cut through summer clothes how about you? I await the sun and lingering summer how about you? COVID isolates this extrovert twists my brain in knots how about you? vicissitudes of aging don’t mesh with young desires how about you? 10-20-21
-
Behind the screen
he tries to understand young girls raised to venerate the Virgin but women who came to veneration late in life are who he needs to hear and ask forgiveness 9-23-21
-
Loving a rescue dog
Love lived in dog years ends Before you’re ready for it to end So you foster another dog Try to break bad habits Their previous owner couldn’t You use a kennel and bark collar Put them on a diet and Maybe it works and maybe you are happy But still, love lived in dog years…
-
Through the broken glass
You have grown tired of sickness All the news, all the fake news and Graphs spinning in fractal mazes You want to sit with friends Say hi to strangers Enjoy music and poetry in a crowded room You want to attend workshops in person See peoples’ gears grind as they respond to prompts Wander aimlessly…
-
untitled
you nod from your porch I nod while I walk this intimacy of strangers sustains us both 9-6-21
My husband's poetry 