Lodestar

losing over
bearing light

Depression in Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin

Remember our pale, blue
picket fence, Dad?

We painted it,
as good as new.

You stepped on the gas
instead of braking,

shot the Chevy thru.


(First published in Poetry Salzburg Review No. 2, Winter 2001/02)

Carpe Diem

1.

You know they say

Time is of the essence, precious,
Get it while you can

Before you waste away.

2.

Never knowing

What else to say,
They say it time

And time again, till
They grind it into dirt,

And throw the precious
Waste away.

Another Poet's Song

after Charles O. Hartman

trying (hard

to see a
round) a

corner (before
it's sung).

Jim Crack Crow Bar

Now

Let's me and you
Just talk, boy--

All this is is a heavy
Line of black

Iron forged into a wedge
At one end

Fitted with a crow-
Like claw that's proved

Well worth its mettle,
Darn useful for prying

And pulling out stubborn
Nails, too.