Ed Werstein Verse-Virtual 2016 March

March 2016

Despite being a life-long consumer of poetry, I spent 22 years in manufacturing before my muse awoke and dragged herself out of bed. I sympathize with poor and working people and I advocate for peace and against corporate power. My poetry has appeared in Verse Wisconsin, Blue Collar Review, Stoneboat and a few other publications. My first chapbook, Who Are We Then?, was published in 2013 by Partisan Press. You can find more of my poetry and other great poetry here: http://littleeaglereverse.blogspot.com/

Perspectives

He said, “Why don’t we turn that
painting of yours one-hundred and
eighty degrees and hang it that
way to see how it looks?”

She said, “Are you kidding? That would
be like me asking you to read
one of your poems starting with
the last stanza and going up.”

He said, “Why don’t we turn that
painting of yours one-hundred and
eighty degrees and hang it that
way to see how it looks?”

Revision

How do you know when it's finished,
or at least finished with you?

How do you know,
when each time you see it
you cross out words,
change them,
sometimes changing them
back to what they were before,
and next time back again.
The same two words
       leap-frogging
   leaping over
       leap-frogging
each other
there on the page.

And because you're probably not ever
going to be finished with it,
how do you know
when it's finished with you,

the way she was finished with you,
while you went on,
each time you saw her,
hoping for different words
to come leaping from her mouth.