Circle Publications, LLC
Poetry
Railroad
Our street ran parallel to the nearby tracks. These tracks, passage to a bigger world. The trains traveling these tracks would often be going slowly as they delivered and picked up cargo at a docking area a few miles down the tracks. These were great for hopping and sneaking a ride. In the opposite direction was Ohio.
service road
parallel to rails
running track
my own private joke
forget everything – just run
Trains also traveled through without stopping. These trains were long and came by at night.
can't sleep
a never ending freight train
carries me along
Peninsula Poets, Fall 2021
Varnish Company Gym
Over the fence
up on the barrels—watch out for cops.
Rusty nails protruding
from broken wooden pallets
go right through gym shoes if we step on one.
Varnish in barrels, tar pools, black.
Sticky in the summer, hard in the winter,
always on our shoes and clothes.
Follow the leader
roof—pallets—barrels
barrels that sway
left—right—left—right.
COPS!
over the fence
across the tracks
don’t look back
Poetry Society of Michigan Five Year Anthology, 2021, p73
Skiffle – Green Street Style
We played
whatever instruments we had.
Our music
with a folk sound
would float off
into the blues.
From blues to
jazz – and
then back to folksy blues.
On hot nights
the music was like a mist
that settled over us
bringing cool relief.
During the winter
the music was like a warm
quilt that your grandmother
had made for you,
warming you deep
into your core.
Peninsula Poets, Spring 2022, p23