Bob Lucky, CN

 

 

Cinquain   In Love’s Grip   Budding romance, I dare not go out alone for fear of seeing something best seen with you.     Denigrating the Natural Scenery to Prepare Myself for Returning to Work   Sunsets so beautiful they are obscene, as if each cloud were a purple bruise, so I think.     House-sitting   Always the day before the owner returns home, the dog gets knocked up, the toilet backs up.     Untimely Advice   There is a place for this, for loving, I say, but as I can see your almost done, don’t stop.     Tanka   the ceiling fan takes measured swipes at the warm air— wiping my face on a sleeve I start to write you again     all night we had no need to speak— jamming hands into pockets now we search for words     on my desk a Tibetan singing bowl filled with silence I move my chair closer to the window     taking out the trash beneath a star-cluttered sky I stand on the curb— for a brief moment I feel the earth wobble     sweating and swatting mosquitoes school picnic a retiring teacher picks at the potato salad