Short Clanked Poems

The coins clinked in front of him, then clanked
  the same coins that, as a child, had delighted him
Today merely clinked; today merely clanked
  the joy drained from counting his puny fortune...

Sensing an epiphany, he brushed the coins away
  sat there, chin resting on his elbows, elbows on the table
startled aware, suddenness sweat-laden, that no longer
  was the world content to wait for him to blossom...

Read More

The clothesline hung, low, and limp.
Raucous, red, long johns 
and worn, white, blue jeans
pinned like butterflies in a box;
dangled bodiless.

The neighbors all envied Mom’s skill.
Nobodies tidy whities were brighter.
The pulley wheel whined and clanked
against back porch clapboards
when a stiff wind blew through.

And, the state of your laundry 
was like the state of the union jack;
you hung ‘um both high
and took ‘um down when the rain came....

Read More