My poems fall flat
like a slap on a
warm winter night.

I'm an old woman
in a dry season.
I tally the years on
prayer beads.  The
clack doesn't help.

I call out "Dr. Dr. Take
my breath away. It's
all I have left to pay
the toll."

I try and try to call
you but my hands
fail.  There is
nothing left of
me.  I lay my
crackled hands
on a picture
you might

remember.


Caroline Shank

U and I
always together
The Y before U
Obliterated forever
by the
O'
after I found U

To love you now means to love you from distance
My eyes swelling,
Heart desolate and longing
For the sound of your voice,
Warmth of your embrace

In the midst of despairing days,
Dreary nights
And sorrowful worries
Here, I love you from afar

In loving you there is no tomorrow;
Only today
If the world crushes on a beam of light in this moment,
Will I ever see you again?

Simple interests
Complex values
Evaluating
Desired profits
Loss of interests
Principal principles lost