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Eavesdropping

by Richard Holleman

By Richard HollemanPublished 4 years ago 1 min read
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The sun laughs and the children shine in the colonnades

of palm trees exercising in the southwest breeze. I grasp

for the absurd while sipping a steaming latte on a day warm

enough to ruminate itself without the help of failed poets.

My pink ears perk before each sip, hoping to catch this afternoon

talking to itself : “some blue sky over here, some clouds over there

and I should be good” the day might whisper as it furnishes Carlsbad.

While the afternoon blows about her business I forget the gender

of the German noun for day. Whatever the gender, this day is one

building block of forty-five years of life, twenty years of marriage,

fifteen years of developing software, and six years of cleaning the

same condo. Funny what you can build with enough of these days.

Lately I’ve been filling them less with new life and using them

more as dressings for old wounds, unwrapping old days and applying

fresh days to the same gashes to prevent infection and preserve function.

Breathing in and out in a meditative fashion will not heal a scarred marriage

but it provides good currency for time, which in itself is another currency.

The refund policy is lousy, and you can’t store days in tupperware.

What would I spend to rebind the bones of this marriage or the lost friendships?

How many days does a bad decision go for? How many to upgrade to a good one?

sad poetry
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About the Creator

Richard Holleman

I studied English Literature at the University of Oregon. My work has been published in the poetry magazines Midstream, Awakenings Review, Miller’s Pond Poetry, and Torrid Literature Journal.

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