©Moronic Ox Literary Journal - Escape Media Publishers / Open Books
Poetry
The Poetry of Mitchell Waldman
"Blueprints to Black", "American Cheese on Wonder Bread", "Snow"
Blueprints to Black
Mitchell Waldman
Newspapers blowing in the streets
sticking to granite wallsmatchstick corpses piled naked in a pitblueprints to Crematoria # 1, 2, 3 and 4signed, stamped, and filedletters imploring supervisors to work fasterget the job doneinvoking laws of supply and demandthere are deadlinesand budgets to meetand finally, done!--the architect and engineer smile,greet each other by the water coolerfor a paper cup toast,and shake each others hands.A charcoal gray skyrain falling lazily in cold fat dropletssteady, unceasinglike the transportsthe constant squeal of infantsshoes of all sizes lined neatly on the rackseyeglasses stored in great boxeshair like hay rolled and bound proud trademark on the oven makers' kiln
a faceless soldier bent over at the sightcounting bodiesthen failingfalling to the groundhand over his eyescrying silent tears.Cold night lying alone on a mattressnot a sound but the refrigerator's humthe rain dripping against the window panethe distant wail of a freight trainand the echo of an infant, a sea of infants wailing--it will yet be nightit will yet be night. American Cheese on Wonder Bread
Mitchell Waldman
Crackers crumbling
don’t dirty the sheets
eyeballs humming
songs of a third eye
sticky fog remembrance
of the way things used to be
rag doll with one arm hanging by a thread
a child’s shell-shocked look and tears
ghost of horror flick screams
the way she stood looking at him
hands on hips
shaking her head
flies buzzing around the garbage cans
dim sickle of a moon
in the corner of the cloudy eye sky
as he walked down the steps
trees bowing their naked limbs
tomato unpicked left over, rotted on the vine
newspaper crushed, rolling down the street
tumbleweed
sunless sky with bur of icy winds
walking tall
about two foot three
beer cans for friends
American cheese on Wonder Bread
hold the mayo
only wonder
video faces
carwash embraces
surrounded by hollow voices
and silence
and questions--
in a panic
looking for the arm of the doll
that fell off.
Moronic Ox Literary and Cultural Journal - Escape Media Publishers / Open Books Advertise your book, CD, or cause in the 'Ox'
Novel Excerpts, Short Stories, Poetry, Multimedia, Current Affairs, Book Reviews, Photo Essays, Visual Arts Submissions
Snow
Mitchell Waldman
Every day there were
more and more reports
that the snow was coming.
And he would wait
dull-eyed, tired
propped by his window
searching for the first
crystal flakes of winter.
Locked in his room
he was impatient in his waiting--
with walnut cane
he would hobble through the streets
on rickety legs,
bones cracking,
down to the diner
for his daily soup.
And then he'd walk back
as if his life were a clock
ticking down
the streets a still life
of man with cane
in a world no longer his.
His eyes would meet no one's
only sweep past the rushing
flash of a coat or dress or boot.
Creeping back through the silence
back through the musty hallway
back to his room
feebly rubbing his hands by the stove
huddling in a blanket by the window
he would sit,
waiting for the snow.
in the clouds of grace
can smile,
while down below,
the rest of us carry umbrellas
or don't,
waiting for the endless skies of gray to clear.
Kindle is Super...
but you don't need one
to buy & read
eBooks
from
Amazon.co.uk
About the Author
Mitchell Waldman is the author of the short story collection, Petty Offenses and Crimes of the Heart (Wind Publications, August, 2011), and the novel, A Face in the Moon. His fiction, poetry, and essays have appeared in numerous publications, online and off, including The Fringe Magazine, Waterhouse Review, The Big Stupid Review, Troubadour 21, eFiction Magazine, Milk Sugar, Pulse Literary Journal, Litsnack, Red Fez, The Houston Literary Review, Wind Magazine, The Piker Press, trans lit, New Aesthetic, Wilderness House Literary Journal, Eclectic Flash, The Battered Suitcase, and HazMat Review. Waldman also serves as Fiction Editor for Blue Lake Review. http://mitchwaldman.homestead.com
Mitchell Waldman
