THE TASTE OF STILLNESS
Makes your mouth water
if a toasted marshmallow
approaches your mouth,
or if a hot cup of tea
soothes your insides
on a freezing winter day,
or if the bliss of the breast
allows you to savor the moment
of each life-enhancing breath.
Taste buds may be the key
that opens the door to the taste
and scent of where you were
before you were born.
AM I DYING?
Just because
I’m green around the gills,
can’t get up from the floor
and every joint aches.
Just because
I can only see a fish-eyed view
of what’s real that no glasses
can correct.
Just because
my gut speaks ferociously
in a language all its own
with gurgles, and hisses
I’ve never heard before.
Just because
You sound so far away,
far away for much too long.
I pulsate
like a far-flung star.
NOT HERE ANYMORE
Yet I can still hear
my musical alarm
wake me up for work
Some day I’m going
to murder the bugler,
some day they’re going
to find him dead.
I see my white shirt
hanging on the door,
my empty shiny shoes
lined up on the floor.
I feel alive in a way
I’ve never felt before.
I must get out of bed,
but I’m not here anymore.
Where have I gone you ask?
You will be the first to know
just as soon as I find out.
TAKE IT EASY
because you’re not going anywhere,
you’re already there.
Whatever is, is.
Slow down, pace yourself
before you fall down.
Remember to breathe
when you have so many
things to worry about.
Gunslingers are eunuchs
who want to feel like men.
Learn to forgive them
for their ignorance,
but, always be ready
to hit the deck.
THE LOVE OF MY LIFE
is young and tender as a sweet peach tree.
With a lovely face and high cheek bones
there’s a glint of jade that sparkles her eyes.
She has a scent of lavender from her garden,
grown with her long slender fingers and toes
that resemble rare precious stones.
Her hour glass figure beneath thick black hair
billows like dark clouds. Surrounded
by flocks of birds she smiles the smile
of a messenger from heaven.
Milton P. Ehrlich Ph.D. is an 87 year old psychologist and a veteran of
the Korean War. He has published many poems in periodicals such as the
London Grip, Arc Poetry Magazine, Descant Literary Magazine, Wisconsin
Review, Taj Mahal Literary journal, Antigonish Review, Ottowa Arts
Review, Red Wheelbarrow, Huffington Post, Christian Science Monitor,
and the New York Times.