I’ve been sitting in this office all morning, trying like hell to keep my eyes open. I’ve even closed them for twenty minutes on the little couch in the cubicle. I found several pieces of Double Bubble gum and wedged the stone-hard cubes into my mouth. I’ve swallowed two cups of really bad coffee. I’ve fingered a dip of Skoal under my lower lip. If I had tea bags, I’d put them on my eyes and let them soak in caffeine.
earbuds dangling,
click to twilight
Al Ortolani’s poetry and reviews have appeared in journals such as Prairie Schooner, New Letters, and the New York Quarterly. He has five books of poetry, the most recent of which is Waving Mustard in Surrender from New York Quarterly Books. He is on the Board of Directors of the Kansas City Writers Place and is an editor with The Little Balkans Review.
Categories: Poetry
Tags: Al Ortolani, e-zine, ezine, hyperbole, longing, melancholy, melancholy hyperbole, new, poem, poet, poetry, poets, submit, The Styrofoam of Stuff, writing
Melancholy Hyperbole 