Going

And there was the distance

behind me like a fading shadow

while the stress

of having covered miles

vanished before the thrust

of softer obstructions

in whose midst

I no longer foundered

 

Humdrum

I keep thinking

of a man and his marriage

with the snowflakes falling

and whether he should wear gloves

or swallow an aspirin

before opening the door.

He zips up his jacket

and flings the hood over his head

spoiling the neatness

of his combed hair

with a necessary gesture

while reminding himself

there are other alternatives.

Jack Lindeman’s newest chapbook is Measuring Dorcas (Finishing Line Press). New poems have recently appeared in Abbey, California Quarterly, The Cape Rock, Chiron Review, Confrontation, and Poetry Now.

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Published in the December 19, 2014 issue: View Contents

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