Walking In Traffic For E.e., And The Blind Man I Do Not Know
when
i
go for a
w
a
l
k
i
take my dog
(you) see
we
go(in)
and
o u t
of-traffic
he takes care of
me
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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Every Woman I...
For William O. Everson
every woman
a rosary bead
all the same
yet all the different prayer
every woman
a different prayer
all the same
yet a deeper crisis of faith
every woman
a deeper crisis of faith
all the same
but greater the gift
every woman
a greater gift
all the same
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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communion time....for D.A.
this week a little
too primal a little
too guttural letting
the deep animal
in my chest
in my brain go
hunting for what
violence its
sense of retribution
could chase down
(I stuck back at
those I am committed
to love wholeheartedly)
now Sunday I stand here
crouched in the back left
corner of the cathedral
waiting and watching
others peacefully walk
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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Answered Prayers?
... my day continues
after stopping for a burger,
fries and a coke
I drive to the nearest bookstore
and purchase
three new books
in Chile
they are picking out bodies
out of earthquake rubble
the west coast and Hawaii braces
for a string of tsunamis
my day continues
in Afghanistan yesterday
seventeen died
in a car bombing spree
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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Every Woman II... For William O Everson
every woman
I make no judgement
large small fat thin
old, young
though not too young
(I am an old man)
I accept as a beautiful landscape
a work of art to reach
to touch
to be gazed upon
every woman
a rosary I wish to pray
a set of beads I wish to tell
with aching fingers...
a sacred set of mysteries
every woman
a beautiful field I wish to roll in
a field of flowers
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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Veins for Sylvia
Her love was the worst
Winter, cold, indifferent
Ice
Went for a walk
Kicked the remaining dead leaves
White and crested over
Vein maps I will follow
In my element
Cold, bitter
Dark skies brooding
Hint of something
That could bury
Something that could kill
I cross over the street
Filled with blind disdain for you
For the driver at the crosswalk
Because you and he have cut me off
Because he missed
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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This is a Reflection of My Faith
as I went to cross the street
I came up to the light
on the corner
I pressed the button
in denial like St. Peter
one-two- three times
so I could cross
this is a reflection of my faith
I walked through my neighborhood
past the radiation clinic
my parents both died from cancer
my father cancer of the lung
my mother ovarian cancer
that metastasized to her brain
is this how I will go?
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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Hymn to Abduction...With Thanks to Norman Who Inspired This
The evening sigh pours
Out of me
Then lust
Then contempt
I have no recourse
I mumble
Grow bitter.
The night opens
It flushes out the light
Low at first
Light, like a hummingbird's song
Then the darkness settles in
Personality
Hope light and love
Are engulfed
They are seated down
Made comfortable.
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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June 8th,2009 for Ezra, Wyatt and Kurt
three days before my first reading
I am out in the rain
the air: cool deep thick
I feel like
a bedbug
under a wet mattress
the gray of the sky
wraps between the black boughs
then around the green leaves of the trees
that stand as sentry witnesses
in the corners of my yard
June is indecisive
July knows what she wants
August sits pregnant in the heat
September shuts down like
a lover who's had one last fling
and despises herself for it.
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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when the muse calls... for O. Ray who knows and understands and for Kay
when the muse calls
cut your hair
get the bleach
assume another identity
start smoking if you don't
quit if you do
drink so you don't hear her
when the muse calls
get a change of address kit
get an unlisted number
find a girl who will break your heart
mutter and ramble to yourself
while walking the streets
when the muse calls
read Zane Gray novels
listen to talk radio
watch CNN
hit your hand with a hammer
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poem by R. James Sterzinger
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