The
Pharmacist
1.
The
pharmacist strolls
along
the shopping centre sidewalk
pince-nez
in his shirt pocket
takeout
bag in his hand—
he’s
breathing easy
with
money in the bank
the
crows don’t make a sound
2.
The
pharmacist motorcycles
to
the desert, mountains, sea
his
black leather jacket
a
boon for humanity
3.
The
pharmacist slips
extra
samples into a patient’s bag
later
that night
he
meets a philanthropist
on
the dating site
4.
The
pharmacist sings
in
the choir because the sum of all voices
equals
the speed of light squared
together
they reach the seventh dimension
5.
The
pharmacist photographs
robins
in the park—
light
breeze on his back
his
feet leave the ground
the
crows don’t make a sound
Set My Alarm: A Winter Strategy
Set my alarm for 11 a.m.
that’s
twelve hours away
when
I finally do get out of bed
it’ll
have been half the day
and
half the day to go
once
to eat, not three times
two
pills to take, not four
and
I won’t step outside
I
won’t open the door
It’s True You Were Eccentric
It’s true you were eccentric
You
knew all along but didn’t live it
If
you could go back and do it different
It
would be all wrong
Wrong
place
Wrong
time
Someone
else’s song
Your
son has today’s itinerary:
Discharge
is at five
Trent
is the nurse
No
blood pressure meds
No
water beds
No
lifeguard on duty
He’s
a bit like you, isn’t he?
Pop Culture Continuum
Muhammad Ali, the Age of Aquarius
Johnny
Depp, the man in the moon
Bonnie
and Clyde, fabulous Las Vegas
Amadeo
Modigliani, the blue eyes of Dune
Mr.
Rogers, a dew-drop fern
Shohei
Ohtani, a rolling wave
Buckminster
Fuller, accelerated by CERN
David
Copperfield, the fire in Plato’s cave
Edith
Piaf, a walk on the water
Tyger
Tyger, a balanced physique
Gautama
Buddha, a back-floating otter
Jim
Morrison, eine kleine nachtmusik
Abraham
Lincoln, an arthouse film
E.E.
Cummings, a formidable feather
Vincent
van Gogh, in many realms
Dorothy
Parker, amid the weather
Douglas Richardson lives in Santa Ana, California, with his wife Jen and cat Wes. In these work-from-home years he likes to watch Big Bang Theory reruns during his lunch hour. His poetry has been published in The American Journal of Poetry, Anti-Heroin Chic, Black Poppy Review, Cajun Mutt Press, The Ekphrastic Review, Hobo Camp Review, The Nervous Breakdown, The New Verse News, Straight Forward Poetry, Trouvaille Review, and Poetry Super Highway. In 2013, he won the Poetry Super Highway contest with his entry, “Notes from the Graveyard Shift.”
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