4 Poems by Alan Botsford

the other shoe

There’s a concrete
Slab with a
Seedling sprouting through:
That’s you.
There’s a pair
Of pals in their
Natural habitat:
That’s laughter.
There’s a runner
Racing by you
To the finish line:
That’s fine.
There’s a peace
You’ll never see
The full measure of:
That’s love.
There’s a feeling
That the other
Shoe never fits:
That fits.
Don’t worry.
There’s a change
In the air
That’ll soon be read:
Enough said.

The Mermaid

The mermaid captured mute

Tells her story of silence.

We build a cathedral of listening

To catch the echoes of what

She says. Buried cathedrals deep

In the sea under the sea. It’s

Twice as meaningful at half

The price, for hers is a currency

Of absence that embraces silence

And waits for the perspective to change.

We haven’t the means to understand

Her only mirroring her.

I swim the length of incomprehension

To see her reflection in my words.

drug of choice

       

what word for you hits

a nerve

what word for you opens

a vein

what word for you is

a rush

what word for you blows

your mind

what word for you slows

it down

to get

around

and around

what word for you before

getting heard

is

a lesson learned

what word for you, hard-

earned, hits

home

what word for you is

your “holy shit!”

what word for you cases

the joint before

making its point

what word for you holds

itself back

while you know it

has your back

what word for you is

before after

Poem

There’s a concrete

Slab with a

Seedling sprouting through:

That’s you.

There’s a pair

Of pals in their

Natural habitat:

That’s laughter.

There’s a runner

Racing by you

To the finish line:

That’s fine.

There’s a peace

You’ll never see

The full measure of:

That’s love.

There’s a feeling

That the other

Shoe never fits:

That fits.

Don’t worry.

There’s a change

In the heir

That’ll soon be read:

Enough said.