Vendor Poetry

AGORAPHOBIA

JEN A.

There’s a can of pineapple,

And a tin of water chestnuts,

There’s half a bottle of ibuprofen.

I’ve been looking for that.

Ah, jello!

There’s half a box of golden raisins.

That’s been in there for a while.

I can bring them back to life If I soak them in water for a while.

Or I could cook them With that little bit of pasta.

That might be interesting.

I guess I could go to the grocery.

Let’s see, I’m old,

And there’s that pesky heart condition,

And that burn on the back of my hand

That won’t seem to heal up

From the last time I went shopping

And overdid the isopropyl alcohol On my polyester gloves.

But now I’m out of isopropyl.

And two bus drivers tested positive.

They won’t tell me which routes.

That’s all disturbing.

Ummm... Maybe next week.

SURVIVOR

DEANA H.

Laying in bed all alone,

Wondering if you get a call on the phone.

With the new person and separation from people Have your face covered

Hard not to hug my mother

COVID-19 has changed the way we live,

God was mad so he separated us.

Just for a short time.

But we’ll all be fine, give it time.

We will rise up

And never give up

We will come back without any slack

For we are strong

Amen

A COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER

LOGAN M.

She will turn that jukebox way up high fill her glass up while she cries First city singing after the fire is gone

I cry every time Patsy Cline cries I sing like I hurt inside

Don’t look under the floor no more That lost Decca record ain’t there no more

Motor to the plane to where the dresses go All the pain and pictures to closets just to hide from you

If your hands could hold a troubled soul Who’s gonna miss me when I’m gone

Spring is just around with bend and the fences need mending

A coal miner’s daughter A coal miner’s daughter

She will turn that jukebox way up high Fill her glass up while she cries First city singing after the fire is gone

Motor to the plane to where the dresses go All the pain and pictures to closets just to hide from you

I cry every time Patsy Cline cries I sing like I hurt inside

WE WALKED IN LOVE

JOHN H.

Many nights it’s hard to sleep, thinking of George Floyd I ask God to comfort me, in turn I embrace my sword (Bible) All these years wondering when will this injustice stop So we protest, ain’t got much time left on the clock

Down on Hennepin sitting on the steps drinking that Henn Where I first met George, seems I met an old time friend Neither of us were perfect, looking at the moon shining above But what we did have in common, we walked in Love

UNDER PRESSURE

JEN A.

When the body is at ground level,

Under normal pressure,

Blood boils at 212* Fahrenheit.

But when the body is placed

In the pressure cooker of endless

Indefensible racism and Social injustice,

The blood boils at a

Much lower temperature.

True leaders ease the pressure

By quoting Aeschylus: “And even in our sleep, Pain which cannot forget, Falls drop by drop upon the heart Until in our own despair, Against our will, Comes wisdom through The awful grace of God.”

Or by leading the congregation in Amazing Grace: “Through many dangers, toils, and snares We have already come, ‘Twas Grace that brought us safe this far, And Grace will lead us home.”

Today our leader threatened

Military action against An anguished community

That has just seen too much,

And quoted Walter E. Headley, With the poetic couplet, “When looting starts, The shooting starts.”

It is a harsh, troubled age,

As Aeschylus knew, “When a tongue at The wrong moment Shoots off sharp-pointed words To rouse and hurt the spirit.”

CARE

VICTOR J.

Care is something you do

Care is something you feel

Care is something you show

Care is something you need