August 20, 2008

a book, my cell phone, an apple







woke up to the sound of construction work
across the road
it was raining

still confused by it all
i managed to take a shower
the skill of man producing rain inside

i had coffee, with milk
went over credit card bills i can't afford
and waited

mental checklist:
don't forget the book
my cell phone, an apple

it was still raining outside
i watched the construction workers
with their fluorescent orange rain jackets

laying the framework of future
luxurious apartments
for picture perfect families

i walked out in the rain
with no book, no cell phone, no apple
living a life i can't afford


michael wallace (Syracuse, NY, 1973)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

poor michael, not even has an umbrella :(

Anonymous said...

It is a common mistake to assume the lyric subject of a poem is the author himself. I've no idea who Michael Wallace is, but I am sure somewhere in his closet he does have an umbrella! So, "poor lyric subject in Michael's poem... he has a life he can't afford". That is terribly sad.


(I am a poet myself, a bit too shy to show my work, but this particular confusion definitely draws me back... when i write sad poetry I can't make people understand it doesn't mean I am depressed or anything, it's just poetry!)

The Mad Dog said...

I like the power of the "void" implied in the last stanza. Nice work.

Kathryn said...

That Is A Great Poem But Very Sad