October 2016
I am an Associate Professor of English at Erie Community College North in Buffalo, N.Y. I have 5 books, 2 chapbooks, and 1 CD of poetry. I am married to Maria Sebastian, a well-known singer/songwriter, and we perform our poetry and music together at many venues in the WNY area. For more information please visit my website: www.perrynicholas.com
Black Holes
Some leave big holes when they pass—
most, I’m afraid, leave small.
Perhaps every decade or so
the size re-adjusts itself,
so we make a mindful decision
about how much we should care,
what tear we leave in time,
how we wish to be remembered.
Will you remember me big, love?
How long before the space I occupied
is reduced by new passion, or at least,
lines and notes that fill you again?
On black days, I assume it will take
about a week to plug the gap,
roll a boulder into the opening,
seal the hole so no more me seeps through.
When, and if, this happens, dear, will you label it
science, love, or simply human nature?
Blame is for God and small children - Louis Dega, in Papillon
I Won't Cry
about news of your death.
I don’t know enough about you
to fill a page, only that you would show
up in my inbox every 6 months or so,
brag about your novel or story,
flatter me how you missed our talks
and what they did for your skills,
then never show on the day you promised.
I know you have a mother and a dog
from the photo of you on the front page.
Not fair to say I knew you well.
I would feel too guilty.
Yet I tell my friends I care,
and I probably do, somewhere
soft in my pitying heart,
but I’m not sure I could have changed you
by critiquing your writing forever,
or at least until the poisons
put to rest your young body.
After all, I might blame myself, even cry.
©2016 Perry S. Nicholas
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