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Best Poems From
LAURENCE OVERMIRE
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329.
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No More As Usual
We walk hand in hand with Death every day
We just never noticed him before
Pretending we had control, no such thing as
Chance.
But now we know
And that’s not a bad thing
To see Death in the mirror
Like a gentle reminder, stuck on the refrigerator.
Me, I tip my hat to him and try to stay out of his way
And each and every glorious day, I thank him for not
Intruding.
(Previously published in No Alibi Press, Feb.2002)
Laurence Overmire
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330.
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No Turning Back
From a vantage below
You can see the anthill swallow the sun
The nature of the beast is to destroy
The ancient symbols foretell
The dying time
The vanishing of the moon
The burning of the sky
The last of the just has fallen in the desert
The flower wilts with no water at the root
Prepare for the night…
The cold darkness of the sea
Shall cover the treachery of the dissemblers
And comfort the quaking
Of the heartbreak Earth.
(Previously published in Burn, Summer 2000.)
Laurence Overmire
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331.
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Not It
“Eenie Meanie Miney Moe
Catch a Beanie by his toe”
“Beanie? ” That’s right, “Beanie.”
We never used that other word.
That hateful word. Not in my neighborhood.
In fact, I don’t remember hearing
That other word, until perhaps
Years later, probably from some adult
But I do remember my friend Gerald
In the second grade
And I remember kids picking on him
But I didn’t know why.
It was never conscious in our house
This racial thing, it wasn’t handed down
So I didn’t see it
The color of his skin
The blue-black mystery of who he was
He was just my friend.
So when Detroit exploded in ‘67
(A man named King was killed in ‘68)
The burning and the flames spreading
From block to block
In our comfortable suburb, people were nervous
And the little kids on the corner were whispering
“They’re coming to get us.”
“They’re coming to get us.”
I hid in a closet
In an upstairs room, underneath the shoes
Pairs and pairs of old shoes, grown-up shoes
“Why did they want me? ”
“What did I do? ”
“Eenie Meanie Miney Moe
If he hollers, let him go
Eenie Meanie Miney Moe.”
Note: This poem is based on true events surrounding the Detroit Riots of 1967.
(Previously published in The Oracular Tree, Feb.2003)
Laurence Overmire
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332.
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Nothing Nouveau Really
Dr. and Mrs. Barningham
In their twenties, stylishly dressed
Arrived at the club
Early, an hour before
The dining room opened
Fully expecting to be served.
A waiter, commandeered for the duty
From another part of the house
Rushed to meet their every need:
Liver and onions at 10 a.m.
(Medium please, not overly done)
A fruit cup and salad with that marvelous
Vinaigrette
(We really must have the recipe)
Coffee with cream, piping hot
And of course a basket of
Fresh, hot rolls (and keep them coming!)
The bottle-eyed Doctor sniggered as the Mrs.
Issued her various provisos and demands
More of this, not enough of that
And would you please and do you mind
The hapless waiter struggling to accommodate
According to the nature of his willingly open
Heart.
When at last they left, in quite a hurry
Doggie bags ready with carry-out coffees
A day filled with urgent things to do
The waiter eagerly reached for his sure-to-be
—generous tip—
Peeking out from under the napkin:
Two bits and change.
An echo of laughter tripping up the sidewalk
As the honorable Doctor and his elegant Mrs.
Chit-chattered effervescently
Away.
(Previously published in Inkblots, Nov.2000; Dreamsbay, Dec.2001)
Laurence Overmire
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