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Poems

 General Poetry Page 

   with Suzanne Robinson 

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​

A Decade since Redeployment

 

There are no hills; only distant ridges

evoke accustomed landscape.

Sun strikes harshly;

gradually the new places

becomes home as

a pair of shoes conforms

to the contours

of the feet.

 

Morning flight from Rhein/Main

hurried hugs at Ft. Dix

changing into civvies.

Brief flight to new home:

reunion with family

flurry of interviews

careers resumed

in unfamiliar places.

 

In time peach orchards

tall pines in sandy soil

glimpse of distant peaks

and mustard-based barbecue

tie me to the new place.

​

Arthur Turfa

Evening Thoughts

 

The light eases out of the day

Slowly

Leaving the heat to deflate 

In the air

It circles the sky

Nudging the stars into place with its 

Last breath

 

The voices in my head 

Are quieter now

And thoughts of you creep in

Stirred by a found image

 

I was there

(Where you're standing)

Days ago

And I think of timing

And connections

And different situations

And possibilities not yet realized

​

Anne Mikusinski

Poughkeepsie, NY

poetry magazine, kelly writers house

Grease Poet

Carl the mechanic
was the first poet
I ever met—
livin' at home
takin' a few classes
at the local CC
I think us younger guys
in the neighborhood
kinda looked up to him
because he was sort
of a regular guy
but when he
came out cryin' one day
and showed us his
first publication
he sniffed that he'd
tried to show
his old man
what he'd done
and all the old drunk
could do was laugh
and drip snot
all over the pages
Carl said this was typical
of how people
treated poets
which was why I knew
I'd never be one
so I asked Carl
to pop the hood
of the Charger
and show me
the spark plugs
or something.

Ailing Elder  

​

(Previously published by Rain Party & Disaster Society)

 

As the days grow shorter

my hopes diminish

that I will live

to see another spring.

The nursing home staff

do not care

if I live or die,

indifferent to my needs,

but will not terminate me,

as long as I don't cause problems.

I know they snuffed

that nice woman

in room 306

who complained non-stop,

then suddenly had a stroke.

The food is awful.

They rarely change the sheets.

The toilet always stinks.

They yell at us all the time,

even hit us. If we protest

we have an accident.

They happen all the time.

Soon I must decide

if I've had enough

of what my life's become.

​

- from “Transitions” by Gary Beck, a widely published Push Cart Nominee living in New York City as a theater director, and sometime dealer. He has several chapbooks and more on the way. His work can be found at http://garycbeck.com/

 

How long will this hum drum beat of a love story

 

How long will this hum drum beat of a love story
push its way through our histories?
How many years will be spent in the rise and fall of moments that sink
and moments that swim closer and closer and closer and farther

we always take two steps forward and nine steps sideways.

we never see each other’s hands until they are rowing us farther away.

But that silent, aching electricity
that flows between our fingers and minds
could light up a small town, I believe

Love is a blood oath
and I was never meant to drag this empty boat
around the shore

just plug it in, just plug it in,
leave the keys in the ignition and walk away again.
Cars will row themselves, if you let them.

​

Lauren Suchenski has most recently been published in Picaroon Poetry, Red Fez, Stoneboat Literary Magazine, Vine Leaves Literary Journal and Dark Matter Journal. Suchenski was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2015.

Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He lives in Crystal Lake, IL, USA with his wife, Vickie and daughter, Sage. He is a three-time Pushcart, Best of the Net and Best of the Web nominee whose work has appeared in more than a thousand publications.

About the Ads you see for Kelly Writers House and Poem Talk: Two years ago I took a free class on Coursera called Modern Poetry from the University of Pennsylvania's Al Filries. Since then, I have been a Community TA. I credit Al and ModPo with recreating my need to publish again. When we first started, I thought it would look better with a few advertisements, so I asked Al if I could run a couple of free ads and he said yes.

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