When the world was small
my heroes were big
living on a 12’’ screen
the telephone operator knew me by name
when the party line was open and free
on Tuesdays it was the bread man
on Wednesdays came meat
Friday mornings the Fuller Brush man rang twice
Saturdays were baseball, bleacher seats for a buck
and on Sunday to church on my bike
when on Monday the Nun asked where the black eye was from
I smiled and said “ran into a door”
while all the while knowing this was the time of my life
—a time when the world was so small
(Conshohocken Pennsylvania: March, 2021)
Tandem Memoriam
When time overcomes memory,
and vision retracts
The past sits in judgment,
its verdict exact
With yesterday’s reason,
tomorrow to blame
All hope left in ashes
—truth mourning the flame
(Dreamsleep: March, 2021)
Till Death Do Us Part
I stole from myself,
never paying me back,
rich in the spoils of war
Identity gone,
the body count total
—larcenous guilt to endure
(The New Room: March, 2021)
Timor
Fear exposes the underside
of courage
The weakest point of strength
—a darker shade of truth
(Dreamsleep: March, 2021)
Inkubation
Your form is strong,
but your content weak
Desire flowing,
experience meek
Trying to fake it
with meter and rhyme
Your words never ripen
—green apples in time
(Dream Sleep: March, 2021)