Dad is Inside Mom

Dad is inside Mom. They are so far up each other’s business that Mom engulfs Dad like a sausage casing. They operate in stereo now, in layers. The heft of…

Read More

Stinging, or Conversation with a Pin

stinging or conversation with a pin poem

Stinging me—that pin. Caressing you—this curve. Imagine me that night forgetting you this morning. Lulling me, an oversight, goodnight. Alarming you under dark, rough morning. Reminding me of pain, forgetting…

Read More

Second Shift Waitress

second shift waitress poem

She fell into a deep sleepless dream. She dreamed she was a queen, Princess Diana before she was dead, Churchill without the soggy stogies and stale slogans, Dr. Phil, Oprah,…

Read More

Still Life

still life poem

Our home is in need of repairs we can no longer afford. Perched atop a slippery slope on the outskirts of town, we watch the sun plunge westwards over muddy…

Read More

2020 HINDSIGHT

2020 hindsight poem

Year of the Iron Reporter Year of the Golden Jackass President Year of the Monkeybutt Blockbuster 3D Year of the New Virus Corona Year of the Dragon Elements Year of…

Read More

Out of Tickets to Ride

out of tickets to ride poem

I squirm at that phantom hand of smoke, a clawed finger beckons toward a carnie operator, keeper of the wheel in plaid knickers, who winks, “you’re next sweetie”. He rolls…

Read More

The Piano Appeared One Day

the piano appeared one day poem

The piano appeared one day— an upright instrument laying on its side— abandoned steel and copper wires, a felled forest of resonant sounds: spruce, maple, and ash. No Good Samaritan…

Read More

The Cloth of Me

the cloth of me poem

Driving to the airport, we talk of yesterday: Larry, our brother, up in his second-floor room behind a quarantine window, revealed between the strips of metal— real, not some wavering…

Read More