February 2022
Bio Note: I think spending 10 dollars on a bottle of wine is pushing it, but I do it because we only go around once and that 3 dollar boxed wine I bought in Spain years ago was (not tasted like) turpentine. I married late to a wonderful woman and, bonus, got two amazing sons in the deal. I enjoy connecting with people who have a sense of humor and can speak from the heart.
American and Broken
Standing at the buffet with my plate already full,
I wonder what else I can stack on top as if
That’s what I need right now, more…
I’m not hungry for what’s before me and
The reflection in the sneeze guard is pained,
But what if I don’t take from this cornucopia before me?
Will it be here tomorrow?
Later, I work on the beginning of a new
Project no one asked me to start but I feel compelled
To do it, as if the future is watching and counting on me
Who will I be tomorrow?
So much pained time in a sea of plenty, protected from
What is before me by clear sheets of plastic and the ambivalence
Of too many choices
All the while ignoring the most important questions,
Who am I and what am I doing today?
Last Minute Poem
My writing group meets in 18 minutes,
and I haven’t written anything in three weeks
because writing, like many things that make me
feel good, is not my top priority
My writing group meets in 16 minutes,
And I’m trying to write something that has
Merit because I respect them and their time
Apparently more than I do myself and my own
My writing group meets in 15 minutes,
And I am on a roll, which happens a lot
When I just sit down and get to work,
Which is why I’m in a writing group with deadlines
My writing group meets in 14 minutes and 30 seconds,
What was I worried about? I will show up with this
Poem and they will think me clever, which I like
Because writing well makes me feel good
My writing group meets in 14 minutes, and I’m
Going to have a lot of time to spare. Not enough
To write a second poem, of course, because I waited
Too long to start this one, but I will show up “prepared”
My writing group meets in 13 minutes, and I don’t think
I have learned a single thing by this last-minute poem
About dedicating time in my life to writing or
How I put things off that really feed my soul
It would be cool to say I did, but, late or not,
My writing group meets in 12 minutes, I will
Not intentionally lie to myself or my friends
in my poetry. I have my standards.
My writing group meets in 10 minutes, my
Poem is written and I will not show up
Empty handed, which does matters to me.
My writing group meets in 9 minutes.
©2022 Steve Anderson
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