June 2019
Bio: I am a non-physician clinician and biomedical researcher living in Pittsburgh, PA. I write because I must; I sincerely hope that my pieces are enjoyed and make a difference. My poems have appeared online at TuckMagazine.com and others, and in print in Hanging Loose (1972), Neurology, and several anthologies.
Dream Street
I left her the house
and got a place on Torley.
Each night the neighbors
put chairs on the sidewalk,
turn the TV face out, drink Iron City
and watch the kids play in the street.
I get home from work at 6 or 10
or 2, shower and then sleep
with eyes open:
a child shrieking on a hospital gurney,
her spine flayed and straightened,
the smell of burning in my hair,
a new mother life-flighted from the mall,
brain shifting in the scanner,
crushed by bleeding while we watch.
We drink coffee and wait
while a father facing doom in our hands
says good bye to his children.
Each day I pedal in over the Bloomfield Bridge,
or drive when called at night, never dreaming
what will come next.
Dream Street
I left her the house
and got a place on Torley.
Each night the neighbors
put chairs on the sidewalk,
turn the TV face out, drink Iron City
and watch the kids play in the street.
I get home from work at 6 or 10
or 2, shower and then sleep
with eyes open:
a child shrieking on a hospital gurney,
her spine flayed and straightened,
the smell of burning in my hair,
a new mother life-flighted from the mall,
brain shifting in the scanner,
crushed by bleeding while we watch.
We drink coffee and wait
while a father facing doom in our hands
says good bye to his children.
Each day I pedal in over the Bloomfield Bridge,
or drive when called at night, never dreaming
what will come next.
© 2019 Donald Krieger
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