EXCHANGE
“Wow—new job, more money,
better health,” she enthuses to Ethan,
“you must feel like a new person!”
“Naw,” he says, patting my arm,
“I like the old one fine.”
[Version 1: 070424
EXCHANGE
“Wow, your health, your job,
and your finances have all
just improved dramatically;
you must feel like a new person!”
she enthuses.
He pats my arm,
“Naw! I like the old one fine.”]
070423
MENTAL DENTAL
So how’s your tooth?
Fine, thanks for asking.
Which did you take;
ibuprofen or acetaminophen?
Salt water.
You mean you’re risking a spike
during the writers’ meeting?
The tooth’s been fine all day;
no pharmaceuticals since 3 a.m.
You surely don't think you can self-cure
with your astounding mental powers!
That’s not it.
Then are you just too cheap
to down a pill?
Think whatever you like;
that’s what I’m doing.
Gonna think your way to health, then?
Yes, if that’s possible.
And I’m going to think my way
to silencing inner voices like yours.
CUSP OF TRUTH
Can salt water
cure a tooth?
My back molar
sure is loothe!
[ASIDE: These poems were created in tandem
during a writers' meeting in Dallas.]
070420
GENTEEL
Only on bad days does she appear,
tapping at my window, peering in.
Then she turns outward again
to brace against the day’s misery,
courteously restoring my privacy.
I admit to an affinity toward pigeons,
but Lucy is my favorite fowl-weather friend.
070419
WEEK-AWAY APPOINTMENT
I take this toothache day by day.
I take acetaminophen.
My dentist lives a state away.
That’s the state of state I’m in.
070418
EMBODIED TRUTH
Bodies touch, bodies feel,
making sense and sex appeal.
Bodies hurt; though that’s real,
so is this—bodies heal.
070417
WORK-RELATED
Evonne, Juan, Swan—
three good names.
Swan’s the teacher
(first name James).
Evonne and Juan
team to tame
course logistics;
that’s their game
(thought they also
play at blame).
070416
IN TROUBLE AGAIN
my mentor
is a fomenter
070415
STARTING OVER
(AND OVER)
Recurrent lesson
of apprenticeship;
shed illusions
of mastery.
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