December 2020
Sterling Warner
jsterlingwarner@gmail.com
Bio Note: An author, poet, educator, my poems have appeared in many international literary magazines, journals and anthologies, including The Fib Review, The Flatbush Review, Street Lit: Representing the Urban Landscape, Verse Virtual: An Online Community of Poets, the Shot Glass Journal, and the Atherton Review. My most recent poetry collections are Edges and Rags & Feathers; also, my first collection of fiction, Masques: Flash Fiction & Short Stories was published in August 2020. A Washington based author, I currently enjoy writing, turning wood, participating in “virtual” poetry readings, and fishing along the Hood Canal.

Peeling Grapes

Like a firefly blinking to attract females, 
Brett winks his twinkling eye then scans 
a bar where people sip drinks beneath
various pandemic masks; as he speaks
his breath reeks, passing through the PPE 
like oleic acid—a death pheromone—
but instead of triggering hygienic honey bee
behavior, he alienates targets of affection,
becomes locked out of scoring before flirtation 
commences; transforming his approach, Brett acts
like a resolute moth bumping into glass windows,
determined to break through a transparent shield—
—yet advancement’s repelled by an invisible cloak,
leaving him rejected, observing potential pick-ups
toast yet another day free of wing dust and dirt.

Memoir

2020 infamy—happy to be alive—I await
timely change & renewed opportunities
like a fisherman patiently casting his line
in every direction, anticipating nibbles
though lockdowns define social engagements
among family, friends, and familiars.

Outdoor heat, heavy & oppressive, precludes     
garden variety repose or yardwork longevity;
meanwhile, sun starved limbs extend, seek 
vitamin D rays—immediate liberation 
from 4K television sets & 24/7 binges, 
zoomed office meetings & virtual poetry readings.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow looks more 
like all my guarded yesterdays, so I acquire
comfort in nostalgia, energy in remembrance,
fortitude in promises, solace in written words.
Editor's Note: If this poem(s) moves you please consider writing to the author (email address above) to tell him or her. You might say what it is about the poem that moves you. Writing to the author is the beginning of community at Verse Virtual. It is very important. -JL