Goodreads
del.icio.us
lies broken on the floor like a wine glass shattered tossed
into the fireplace as if in celebration of something I cannot
comprehend the cold needle is stuck due west north west
not magnetic north where I want to explore the wilderness
today the words hide from me they are
empty and will not look me in the eyes
little lonely children filled with regret i'll
try to tempt them with chocolate candy
and to help them understand it is okay
to hurt sometimes this is an act of love
before this
before the workshops
before the readings
before chicago
before the groupies
and the fans
before the critics
before love
before vows
before litigation
before my son
i cut my teeth
on fire and ice
on the road not taken
on mending wall
in the sixties
in eisenhower elementary
in the heartland
before africa
before shakespeare
before shaking all those poets hands
before erica
before carolyn
before gwendolyn
before all of the others
we learned about him
we watched all the films
about his life
his poetry
his story
we learned about respect
and ! i learned
that i would have liked
to shake his hand
just once
just
that
Jeffrey is the editor and publisher of The Poetry Victims. He is a poet and photographer living in the heartland.