Poems for the Wednesday after the Tuesday

Because, no matter what's happened so far ...

… we’re going to need light. And we’re going to need each other.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

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AT THE CORNER STORE                                                                              2017


I dreamed about him last night,
says the young man at the register
to the woman ahead of me in line.
I knew somehow that I was in that house,
and he was there, and angry,
and I was terrified. He was just – 
so huge.
	        Honey, replies the woman
as she tucks her change into her purse, next time
you dream, take someone with you. Simple as that.
Don’t go there by yourself.
                                                The young man exhales, 
laughing, tucks her receipt into the grocery bag,
hands it across the counter. My name is Nick, he says,
what’s yours?

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WHEN YOU NEED MORE LIGHT                                                                     2023


Set something on fire.
Run a current through a wire.

Read for the words that shine through lies.
Now memorize.

Say something true with your voice or body or pen.
Say it again.

Wait for the sun to rise.
Now open your eyes.

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