Solitary figures
running in place
in an empty stadium
makes me cry
Category: Poems
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JulyPoWriMo 22
The fourth wave
sounds incongruous
to flattening the curve
which never really
worked out when
you think about it
just a long roller coaster
of denial that the next
crest will be any smoother
than the last
we’re all in this together
which is why some of us
keep putting masks on
while others wait and see
when it will be their turn
to face facts infection
is inevitable for those
who don’t believe in science
or anything really why else
insist on dying so rapidly
inherently unnecessarily
a miracle those who are
holding it together keep
holding us together
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JulyPoWriMo 21
Thinking of the story
I heard on the radio
about the family
who found the only
image of their relation
in footage disregarded
for fifty years or more
now memories reclaimed
by so many others
pictures and sound
filling in the blanks
that otherwise are lost
nothing is ever forgotten
just caught between frames
the projector spinning
at the end of its cycle
waiting for the light
to come through
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JulyPoWriMo 20
Remember when
a billionaire exploiting
the labor of millions
landed on the moon
making one giant leap
for all humankind
instead of inflating
an already outsized ego
me neither
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JulyPoWriMo 19
Anxiety on
the rise again
based on imaginary
shared numbers falling
what if we have to
shut down after
this brief opening
no one had adjusted to yet
Brigadoon cities shaped like
computer chips
dotting the landscape
growing in number
before slipping behind
a black cloud
or wings in flight
never to be seen again
in quite that formation
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JulyPoWriMo 18
Haze surrounding
the sun drifts fire
particulates move
east toward ocean
only visible at
sunset after clouds
burned away
leave dry ground
will we know when
the sun disappears
at last behind
our screens
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JulyPoWriMo 17
In the quiet
between speakers
remembering
the train engineer
a grandchild
no older than three
raises hands softly
cooing choo-choo
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JulyPoWriMo 16
Flood and fire building
burning if not collapsing
full capacity
earth dying to return to
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JulyPoWriMo 15
How many broke millennials
did it take to make the latest
Fisher Price kitchen appliance
referencing avocado toast
lettuce wraps and alphabet smoothies?
From farm to table to plastic
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JulyPoWriMo 14
Anticipating rigor of travel
is its own journey as evidenced by
the still unpacked suitcase in the hallway
holding forgotten remnants of the past
distracted by random pictures we took
of auspicious holidays returning
every year the invention of clockwork
reminds us of how long it’s been since then
cannot count the moments stacked in between
laying sideways out on the horizon
anxieties arrive like taking off
into a blue unknown onion unseen
liminal spaces dither at the gate
the was and the not yet will have to wait
Joshua Keiter 