November 2017
Joan Colby
JoanMC@aol.com
JoanMC@aol.com
I have written poetry and short fiction all my life and published a lot of it. My day job is editor of a trade publication Illinois Racing News. I live on a small horse farm in northern Illinois with my husband and various animals. My latest book, "Ribcage," (from Glass Lyre Press) recently won the 2015 Kithara Book Prize. I also am an associate editor of FutureCycle Press and Kentucky Review.
Author's Note: These are poems from a group that I am calling "The Ordinary Saints". So far, I have about 24 of these and aiming toward a chapbook eventually.
SAINT ROOFER
Blessings on you, saint of the interrupted views,
Of the uplifted hammer,
Straddler of the vents.
Saint of the slate or shingle
Who wards off the elements
So we sleep warm and dry
Preserved from the planets
That hold our destinies.
Pound nails to secure our lives
For the while they will last
As your muscles bronze in the heat
Of afternoons. As the hailstones beat
A severe harmony retelling
All that we have missed.
SAINT BUSKER
Blessings on you, your guitar, saxophone.
Harmony of the underpass, the train
Station. Sad operetta of the unemployed
Strumming an old song for coins
Thrown carelessly in a bucket. You can hope
A small crowd of clappers will egg you on,
Nodding and smiling doing your best.
Saint of the wandering minstrel,
The dusty roads twanging with chords.
You squat in torn levis
Tuning your instruments as someone shouts
For a song you hardly know, but will try..
SAINT ROADBUILDER
Blessings on you, sitting high
In your gold machinery. Leveler
Of roadbed, layer of gravel and tar,
Scraper and roller. Your disciples
Hold signs proclaiming Stop or
Slow so that we proceed
Around the orange cones that advertise
Your virtue, making a way
From place to place. Saint of travelers.
Graders of our ease, of our smooth transit.
Aloof in the cage working the levers
Of a juggernaut as we pray
For safe passage.
SAINT HOTEL MAID
Blessings on you, your cart of mops,
Brooms, dusters, rags. Bed maker,
Sheet changer, pillow plumper.
Scrubber of toilets and tiles
Eradicating the stench
Of otherness. Vacuum and sprays.
Each day a resumption of pristine
Expectations. The spotless world.
Saint of latex gloves, destroyer
Of dust bunnies. Bestower of
Mints, scented soaps, shampoo,
Fresh towels neatly folded.
Light bulbs checked. The compelling voice of
Room Service. Quietly entering on
Rubber soles.
SAINT SCHOOL BUS DRIVER
Blessings on you, stop and start.
Country homesteads, subdivisions,
Backpacked chatty wealth of children.
Good kids, bad kids try your patience,
Saint of Quiet Down. Full stop at
Railroad crossings. Rain or shine,
Always on time. Unmistakable
Yellow bulk. Field trips or basketball games,
Eyes on the road, impervious to distraction.
Foe of bullies, friend of the shy.
K through 12’a precious load
Turning up the volume
Behind you.
SAINT ROOFER
Blessings on you, saint of the interrupted views,
Of the uplifted hammer,
Straddler of the vents.
Saint of the slate or shingle
Who wards off the elements
So we sleep warm and dry
Preserved from the planets
That hold our destinies.
Pound nails to secure our lives
For the while they will last
As your muscles bronze in the heat
Of afternoons. As the hailstones beat
A severe harmony retelling
All that we have missed.
SAINT BUSKER
Blessings on you, your guitar, saxophone.
Harmony of the underpass, the train
Station. Sad operetta of the unemployed
Strumming an old song for coins
Thrown carelessly in a bucket. You can hope
A small crowd of clappers will egg you on,
Nodding and smiling doing your best.
Saint of the wandering minstrel,
The dusty roads twanging with chords.
You squat in torn levis
Tuning your instruments as someone shouts
For a song you hardly know, but will try..
SAINT ROADBUILDER
Blessings on you, sitting high
In your gold machinery. Leveler
Of roadbed, layer of gravel and tar,
Scraper and roller. Your disciples
Hold signs proclaiming Stop or
Slow so that we proceed
Around the orange cones that advertise
Your virtue, making a way
From place to place. Saint of travelers.
Graders of our ease, of our smooth transit.
Aloof in the cage working the levers
Of a juggernaut as we pray
For safe passage.
SAINT HOTEL MAID
Blessings on you, your cart of mops,
Brooms, dusters, rags. Bed maker,
Sheet changer, pillow plumper.
Scrubber of toilets and tiles
Eradicating the stench
Of otherness. Vacuum and sprays.
Each day a resumption of pristine
Expectations. The spotless world.
Saint of latex gloves, destroyer
Of dust bunnies. Bestower of
Mints, scented soaps, shampoo,
Fresh towels neatly folded.
Light bulbs checked. The compelling voice of
Room Service. Quietly entering on
Rubber soles.
SAINT SCHOOL BUS DRIVER
Blessings on you, stop and start.
Country homesteads, subdivisions,
Backpacked chatty wealth of children.
Good kids, bad kids try your patience,
Saint of Quiet Down. Full stop at
Railroad crossings. Rain or shine,
Always on time. Unmistakable
Yellow bulk. Field trips or basketball games,
Eyes on the road, impervious to distraction.
Foe of bullies, friend of the shy.
K through 12’a precious load
Turning up the volume
Behind you.
© 2017 Joan Colby
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