Here is the latest installment of Poet’s Corner, presented by the Edmonds-based EPIC Poetry Group.
Breaking Points
What if my buddy’s racing ’59 Impala
Had slid just 2 feet further left on that nasty curve
Hit that cedar stump deep within thick vines
One drunken high school summer night
What moved me through that dance floor crowd
To run the risk, ask her to dance
Then hold her close and feel our hearts
Begin to beat in forever time
How did we tread through sweat and tears
Wedding vows stretched thin as our finances
What compass guided us when all seemed lost
Delivered us to happy times, to golden years
When surging surf had done its best
To stun me, wash me out to sea
How did I find that crucial strength
Regain my balance, stumble free
Dumb luck? Blind luck? Take your pick
We make the best of hands we’re dealt
Sometimes a break just comes your way
The odds say one thing, gods another
Tom Fortin
~ ~ ~ ~
Career Counseling
I read your lips this very morning
As you rolled out of my bed
By the time I finished breakfast
I learned I’d been misled
We met for lunch at noontime
You swore you’d told the truth
Within two hours I knew you’d lied
I’d found the hidden proof
We bantered over TV dinners
As you promised not to lie
The check you wrote me bounced today
The ink was barely dry
I want to trust you, yes I do
I know you’re really trying
Bad habits are so hard to break
Especially ones like lieing
But if you cannot help yourself
Must lie your whole life through
You’re perfect for one line of work:
It’s politics for you!
Tom Fortin
~ ~ ~ ~
Fool’s Gold
Somewhere between casino and gym
The wild card turns, a ball bounces weird
Some flipped coin rotates in midair
And plots proceed
The games we win or lose are seldom ones we master
Other forces interfere
To astound and overwhelm us
Leave us raging, senseless, awed
Fate could take years or merely minutes
To deliver unexpected news
Dreams and visions churn for decades
Then blindside us overnight
Some dusky echoes, smoky fragments
Rise clearly from the din
Wild victory dances, numb shellshock
Jackpots, mine fields, celebrations
All blessed lives, each damned existence
Losing streak or lucky break
Midas-touched or satan-twisted
Dance around all bets we make
Deceptive youth may promise treasure
Swept our way by plan or whim
But when that end result emerges
Lean turns lucky, fat proves thin
Tom Fortin
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
About the poet:
I’m a longtime, retired high school and community college teacher with plenty of time now for “Fooling with Words.” My active interest in creating my own poetry was launched by that Bill Moyers-titled PBS series in 1998. And lately I enjoy becoming more public with my poetic attempts.
I love my present Lynnwood/Edmonds/Sno-King life. The vibrant artistic climate surrounding us here today fills my heart — and my poetic spirit — to overflowing.
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