July 2021
Robert K. Johnson
choirofday@cs.com
Bio Note: My poems are spins on our everyday world, which has always gripped me much more than science-fiction worlds. A now retired English Professor, I taught for many years at Suffolk University in Boston. I also for several years was Poetry Editor for Ibbetson Street magazine. I have had several collections of poems published.

A Haven Within Reach

For an hour or more,
women can set sail 
and leave behind

problems at their job, 
or with their parents,
boyfriend, husband—

set sail and discover 
the pristine world 
of new fashions in coats

dresses and skirts
waiting for them
on long islands of racks

The Loss

One morning, a bully—bored
waiting for the school bus— 
decided to beat up Jimmy.

But right away Jimmy planned
how to win the next day's rematch.
That morning, he put on

the special cowboy belt 
his dad gave him to wear
on rough camping trips—a belt

he was sure doubled his strength.
Then he strode to do battle. But soon
stumbled home, his bleeding mouth 
the least of his sorrows.

Dusk Shadows on Jones Beach
for Alice P.

More than being glad when I say that you
are right—the rows of darkening waves
haven't chilled my bare skin blue,

more than your pleasure when I erase,
with my towel's caressing strokes, the drops
of ocean on your tanned face

is the sadness that won't let you forget
whose kiss, like soft fire, warmed your lips
on this beach before we met.
Originally published in Choir Of Day
©2021 Robert K. Johnson
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