Hello, I Am Not a Soldier
And yet I wear caution like a uniform
now, pulling myself into its rough sleeves
and old boots each morning
before I even think of coffee or how
Audio
Portuguese Lessons
When we retired, I told my wife if we’re going to live in a city,
I want to be in the midst of it, not stuck in a high rise on the outskirts
near a megamall.
Mountain Lake
The next day I wake up and my wife
Is coming into the hotel room
And the first thing she tells me is that she found
A secret garden, which are her actual words,
Where she sat and absorbed as much sunlight
As she could, and then the second thing
Post-Election Abecedarian
America, a gleaming ship—mighty engines,
billowing sails—the wind at our backs one minute, hurricanes
careening toward us the next.
Haiku [it’s all over]
As one who often writes haiku, it’s always a challenge to distill moments to its essence. When I was sitting with my thoughts, I heard sirens off in the distance, which captured the sense I had of melancholy, anxiety, and unknown dangers on the horizon.