The Writer

I look for
illumination,
enlightenment,
words as clear and sharp
as a city-less winter night.
I find only	
the wooden stump of a leg,
Jack’s,
at the bar
again
resting on a stool
with the medal
tacked to it,
the one he won 
in the war.
“Win that before
Or after you fell off
your Daddy’s tractor,
Jack?”
from the stalls in the back.
Jack pats it and rubs the medal 
looking for a stranger
to tell him his story.
This is it then-
the neon reflections,
the lies-his, theirs, mine- 
of a carefully carried
past.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2022

Poem

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Sambourne Avatar
July 3, 2022 at 9:28 PM
Another winner. Those final 5 lines ring true in the reader's mind + cap a fine poem indeed. Be well. Brian
Brown Avatar
July 12, 2022 at 2:13 PM
Thanks Brian!
Bauer Avatar
May 7, 2022 at 11:59 AM
you've painted such a vivid picture, douglas, that i can visualize the whole scene perfectly...
Brown Avatar
May 9, 2022 at 9:46 AM
Thank you Ilene! Appreciate it.
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