Poetry

The day’s order

There is silence. Echoing silence.

Then a roar. Immense and all consuming.

The world explodes into chaos and order. Hands push. Feet trample.

Glares and laughter pierce the humming tension of anxious bodies.

The race has begun. Hold your breath underwater.

Heart pounding, pull yourself up and out. Remove your goggles. Chlorine stings.

Everyone gathers to eat. Calm. Gentle hums of content.

Dissipation. Deafening silence. Trickle away before you’re noticed.

Get out.

---

Love in lost words

My truefast
A gamphrel am I
With my bumfuzzled titubation of emotion,
As kludgy as mullered speach,
As I desperately circumvent
The palilogy of “I love you”

That any dowfart could prolate.
To niffer “I love you” for “I love you”
Would not in earnest bagsy your heart.
I may as well dun you your affection.

In a world with quick fluctuating romances,
Built from fallaciloquence,
Even to an anthomaniac,
Flowers as gestures turn to chantage
And “I love you” turns to “walla walla”.

But I, your meeple,   
Will say “I love you”,
For at risk of sounding a verbalist
That phrase acts the cintre
For the kilig within
When your catchlight doth skinkle

---

And then we eat

It’s the Sunday-night ritual.
Mom’s silver hair glimmers as she turns the sprouts
Father and Cousin bicker over tenderest ribs
Older Sister sets napkins and silverware with care
Younger Sister pouts as she dresses the salad
Little Brother slides out of the T.V. room in shorts and socks
I put out five cups of water
One cup of milk for Little Brother
Younger Sister tells a piece of gossip
Father reminds her gossip isn’t news
Cousin demands a definition of that fine line
Mom tells everyone to serve themselves
Little Brother hops to the front of the line
Older Sister pats my back to go before her
Cousin says Younger Sister’s gossip isn’t even true
Aren’t you dating so-and-so, Younger Sister responds
Cousin blushes and takes steak to go with ribs
Mom sighs and pours her weekly glass of red wine
Father adds extra pine nuts to his salad
Little Brother asks Cousin if he’s really dating so-and-so
I straddle the bench to fit between Older and Younger Sister
Then silence.
Then a chorus:
“Come Lord Jesus
Be our guest
And let these gifts
To us be blessed
Amen.”

And then we eat.