The last one
be it cookie
slice of pizza
or single man
seldom gets picked
often gets tossed
frequently gets forgotten
like some afterthought
but I wonder
what it’s like
to be the
last one left
looking around thinking
where’d they go
when’d they leave
Happiest
If this
isn’t Heaven
then I
don’t know
where it
is or
how it
could ever
be better
on judgement
day just
leave me
here with
my happiness
I’ll take
the next
train home
Distance
Distance does do
what it’s meant
it keeps things
safely at bay
but in that
space between you
and them it
or whatever else
grows wild perspective
remember to stop
taking it in
for its flowers
are very rare
Wee
In the wee
always this time
when the we
is missed most
the uncanny hours
after day and
before the night
when the guards
change their shifts
and for just
the briefest moment
I’m left vulnerable
that’s when they
come from shadows
the wee ones
Hangnail
From some craggy
place a hangnail
snags on some
long forgotten moment
and the memory
snaps with sting
enough to make
me pull back
and look closely
grabbing a clipper
I snip it
cleanly off closing
that chapter again
how many times
will these ghosts
happen to haunt
what must I
do to avoid
touching its flame
by now you’d
think I’d know
that fire burns
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 