Fall
“If you don’t believe in something, you’ll fall for anything.”
—Falsely attributed to Alexander Hamilton
Maybe Lewiston
Maybe we will see Katahdin, we tell our children; maybe we will see a moose. Pulling over at the Lewiston Travel Center, trucks at the tagging station, hunting season just beginning.
Underwater Lakes
there is a stillness in me that refuses to be translated,
oceans within oceans; my halcyon halocline unmoving,
stiffened by my own salty breath.
Two Months Before My 65th Birthday
There is no lifeboat, no raft,
no deserted island with coconut trees
and fresh water. You can’t slow down
the waves.
The Rote Stuff
Image: “Yellow Flowers” by Carla Paton. “The Rote Stuff” was written by Gary Glauber for Rattle’s Ekphrastic Challenge, September 2023, and selected as the Editor’s Choice.
He Said Waltz with Me
till the soft cloth
hammers shatter
and no longer reach
the strings
till the metal pedals
wear down to nubs
unable to dampen
the music rings