Poetry Samples - Yes Press (1990)

The following two poems appeared in the book, Poems: A Celebration





“The Dustman”

I am timid
Like blades
Of grass crushed
Under the weight
Of the thick
Leather souls
Of work
Boots worn
By calloused
Men
Making livings
Chopping down
Saplings
And gouging
Into terra firma
With mechanical fingernails
Till it crumbles
Into nothingness
Left for the dustman
To sweep under
Some lone
Distant door…..


“Ode to a Hotel Clerk”

I must make a confession,
Being a Front Desk Clerk is a most dangerous profession,
With foreigners with tattoos of daggers and spiders,
To honeymooners and seniors with quirks,
Hotheads, hookers and other jerks,
But our brave little Front Desk Clerk must face them all undaunted,
Even though they look like America’s Most Wanted!



Author’s Note: Poems: A Celebration was published by Yes Press in 1990. It was edited by Glenn Gallaher