Poems & Other Lies
Damp
Damp The clouds have come right down to the ground, enveloping me It is not raining, but I can feel the water particles brushing against my skin with their cold, damp touch
November 9th
November 9th The stars shine in bright defiance of the waning half moon Behind me and to the west the lunatic yipping of coyotes echos A farm dog standing sentry barks and the pack falls silent Frost sparkles on the ground yesterday’s storm has blown...
Early November
Light breeze from the southeast sends golden leaves sailing by one at a time
Lit 101
I had a professor in my freshman literature course who was obsessed with Christian symbolism. Scarred by a Catholic education, he looked for it in everything, from Franz Kafka to used car advertisements. Raised in the Episcopal Church, I sympathized with his biases. ...
Chanterelles
The sun filters through the tall trees Like light through a loosely woven tapestry The woods are damp with recent rain Filled with the earthy, spicy smell Of fresh mushrooms emerging from the moss
The Vastness
Wide awake Staring into the vastness The firmament filled with flickering lights Clouds roll in from the west Extinguishing the stars Each in turn Like the candles on the alter At the close of service I am left Alone in the dark Waiting for the...
Denial
I like my job. It is work that needs doing and I enjoy doing it. I have worked through several public health crises; I was a lab tech and phlebotomist through more than one hepatitis outbreak. I was working when AIDS first began to blossom, before we really knew...
Still Living My Best Life
Amy has been gone for three weeks, gone south to California to take care of her mother who is recovering from hip surgery. Our niece, Tessa, remarked to her: "Uncle Vernon must be living his best life, up there unsupervised." "Vernon lives his best life every day, "...
Bob Verpa
A morelity play starring Amy Wheeler. Featuring morels by Andy Wade. https://vimeo.com/416343095
Impermanence
My morning walk takes me past landmarks no longer there: Coe Primary, where I attended first and second grade, now offices. Down the street, third and fourth grade gone. Only a park remains Last year, May Street School razed, replaced by a brick...
Troubled Sleep
I lie perfectly still, refusing to open my eyes, refusing to roll over struggling with my own thoughts desperate for just another thirty minutes of repose Outside a bird calls from high in a tree striving to make its song heard above the incessant noise of...
Systems Check
I walk out under a dark blue, faintly luminescent sky The moon, one day past full, shines down on the hot tub My morning routine has become an anti-viral struggle against the pandemic Systems check: Water clear, thin islands of bubbles, 103 degrees,...
Pterodactyl
just above me, huge, silent, missing one secondary feather from the left wing, a heron glides across the pale blue plate-glass dawn
The Kiss of Contagion
You feel the warmth rising, the gentle caress of contagion brushing across your lips. You try to deny it, to push it away. But there is no denying what you feel in your chest, the ache at the back of your throat. It has caught you, and you will not get free. You may...
Yes, you are
Why do you argue with me, when I tell you how beautiful you are? Why do you roll your eyes and say, “No, I’m not.” as if I have no idea what I see with my own heart? You turn the stereo up so loud a deaf kid could dance to it, miming the lyrics with a provocative...
