Humanity and
its vanity can only
end tragically

   Kelly McManus

FAMILY

we come
together
maybe, once, twice, as a family
knowing blood is thicker than water
we tell ourselves, until the moment
someone slips, saying the wrong thing
then it happens, all hell breaks loose
the fists will fly, making like sticks and stones
and no surprise, there will be broken bones

by Michael Perry

Do not follow where you were meant to lead. The blind cannot lead the deaf.

Not everything needs a poem
Sometimes
it’s already

good enough.

The slightest
twitch

your palm seeking
my chest

still working on
building down
the filters that have your hand stop
in mid-air

early to bed
and early to rise
for tonight is the night
that your enemy dies

for not all who wander
will ever be found
and we know time will put
all our foes in the ground

so close your eyes tight
and let loose your sorrow
if they don't die tonight,
they will die tomorrow.