Bad Manners
I need to walk,
therapy
for aching knees
and battered heart.
Slowly peddling
his outdated bike,
hunched from years
and blocking the wind,
he rides.
Kids shout
as they drive by,
“Old geezer!”
Trying to balance that
with my smile and nod;
knowing my trip
is closer to him now
than the teens
who blow by us.
He returns my smile,
knowing the rules
of the road
better than most,
while keeping his comments
under his coat.
I Think One Day
I think one day
I will write something
so amazing
that the whole
frickin’
world
will stand up
on their feet
cheering,
“MY GOD
SHE IS AMAZING!
WHY CAN’T I
WRITE LIKE THAT?”
And then
my ass
twitches with a pain
that shouts,
“YOU HAVE BEEN SITTING
IN THAT SAME SPOT
LONG ENOUGH.GET OFF YOUR ASS
AND MOVE!”
I think one day
I will completely
give up caring
what everyone else
is saying
at stand up and shout,
“ARE YOU EVEN
LISTENING?”
And then I will write
an AMAZING POEM
leaving
even you
impressed
and speechless.
I Think I Left the Circle
Many childhood games
played in circles,
Duck-duck-goose,
and musical chairs,
left us running
around and around
breathlessly to
save our space.
We grew older
and played Spin-the-bottle,
passed oranges
tucked under our chins,
or laid our heads
on each other’s bellies
until we rolled in laughter
killing off our friends
with a wink.
Now I run in a circle
where the rules in my workplace
are unspoken, yet known,
and I think I left the circle
before I knew it closed,
yet I am still
breathless,
knowing
I’m out.