Tuesday, 3 September 2024

Five Poems by Sterling Warner

 




Solar Oysters Revisited 

 

I was there upon a boat 

where ebon skies gave way 

to silky strands of solar gas 

caressing crystal molecules. 

 

fire fox tails brush 

icy mountain fling gold sparks   

northern lights reflect 

 

Imperfection’s disciple I clawed  

my way over hilltops.., planted two  

elbows and a knee at water’s edge  

like a human tripod on a gravel shoreline.  

 

armoured Valkyries  

escort fallen warrior souls 

shieldmaiden lustre 

 

Capturing flashing shooting star trails 

the Aurora Borealis’ northern blush  

and Milky Way madness crested 

on midnight’s freckled pearl horizon. 

 

heaven’s messages 

shimmer above the living 

spirit world dancing 

 

I witnessed heavenly hands 

push starshine across the galaxy 

like flaring cosmic riptides, futilely  

resisting the lunar gravitational pull. 

 

afterlife pathway 

ancestor radiance gleams  

twilight of the gods 

 

Sprawled on my cedar deck back home 

I reassess twinkling constellations, firmament 

unremarkable through a sheer stellar veil, 

yet revealing rainbow hues via a camera lens.




Xeroxing Shelia 

 

Dad hired Shelia—assistant to the assistant— 

to support me at Warner Medical Lab;  

after locking doors, we disinfected 

linoleum floors in white lab coats  

covered in wright stain, blood spots  

& yellow blotches. Yet her protective 

apron seemed to cling and highlight 

her perfect derrière though soiled fabric. 

 

I’d crushed on Shelia before exchanging words 

working side by side increased my infatuation; 

washing Pyrex beakers & pipettes in tandem 

cracking jokes, exchanging risqué glances; 

she & I refilled test tube racks, snipped needles 

& discarded lancets in disposal containers, 

autoclaved culture dishes, then mixed foul smelling 

blood agar growth mediums for petri plates.  

 

Beyond his oldest son, Dad gifted other employees  

tired of carbon copied requisition forms & communiqués  

treating receptionists, phlebotomists & technicians 

to an electronic wonder that reproduced documents,  

small claims disputes, innumerable patient waivers  

& complex tables when placed beneath a rubber flap; 

there they would engage in water cooler small talk 

distracted only by flashing light as the copier hummed.  

 

No strangers to the replicating marvel, Shelia & I 

would proceed to the back room after finishing tasks      

to expand our relationship through photo experiments;  

coats thrown over heads for increased contrast,  

we’d flip on the Xerox, take turns squinting eyes  

& pressing our faces against cold glass that captured  

our likenesses grimacing…, smirking…, pecking  

an icy surface…locking loving lips in passion’s promise. 

 

We passed weeks & months mixing work with pleasure  

until Xerox machine rituals altered in aim & scope; 

just as August leaves began to yellow, our shared 

enthusiasm waned, suggestive photos declined & Shelia  

found me predictable & exasperating; on my birthday, she 

mailed me a dedicated copy of her exquisite, unblemished ass— 

meticulously duplicated on a new, high-end Xerox: 

“Kiss between my cheeks when you miss me, repro boy.”




Urban Similitude  

 

You loved brick walls, sashay  

windows, black wrought iron rails 

and steel grating steps that lead  

to city streets in any town USA  

where mom & pa shops anchor  

office buildings & apartment complexes 

into basement floor foundation blocks. 

 

Crown Fried Chicken to pharmacies, 

corner markets to adult bookstores, 

sin and salvation roll on the same die 

followed by hucksters, preachers, 

street vendors, naïve disciples… 

people you treated as equals respecting  

& adhering to blessed beatitudes. 

 

Nothing iconic 

distinguishes urban sprawl 

so I conjure your 

image to make sense out of  

madness West coast to the East. 

 

I recollect your grace—my social angel— 

administering to homeless family needs 

comforting indigent winos who warm  

sexless, frozen digits over trashcans ablaze 

glowing like tenderloin torches; there streetlamps  

formerly guided footsteps & increased safety 

till shattered by vandals & ignored by PG&E. 

 

Skyscraper evenings brighten community  

commons with a difference as neon lights  

flash atop modern hotels, bodies pass  

faintly lit windows in various degrees 

of dress; I looked for you beyond shades 

drawn and open, rekindling memories, 

resting in arms born to cradle nonchalance.




Hourglass Sonnet 

 

No time given to re-examine vows 

uttered by couples united in thought 

or repeat clichés others might espouse 

in candlelit chambers where minds dreadnought. 

 

Time’s pendulum swings in even measure 

unrestrained, impelling future pivots 

like hands on a clock we tick toward treasure 

binding hearts entwined with Cupid’s rivets. 

 

From daylight till dusk our love long days basked 

behind closed doorways and bed chamber walls 

publicly winking amore unmasked 

we shamelessly exchange flirtatious calls. 

 

We’ll brace things to come with words that console 

’tween moments wind chimes ring and church bells toll.




Winchester Drive-in Theatre 

 

Tin pan voices pass through 

protective metal speaker boxes  

that hook on rolled-up parked car 

windows at the Winchester Drive-in 

where patrons attend select films 

unlikely to draw large crowds 

create communal privacy shared 

by collective consciousness minds 

in the mood for a cosey evening  

void of critical lookers, chaperones,   

school peers, or family friends; 

light showers spot our windshield  

as the movie commences. MGM’s 

lion appears on the outdoor screen 

announcing a feature film few people 

care to watch, preferring shadows 

to cinema, physical to musical overtures. 

Once the box office bomb begins to roll 

apprehensive couples scoot closer together  

loosen restrictive clothing, let hair hang down 

mutual confidence soaring like two eagles in flight 

till fingertips uncurl and lips wield perfect passion.









Sterling Warner - A Washington-based author, poet, educator, and Pushcart Nominee, Sterling Warner’s works have appeared in such literary magazines, journals, and anthologies as the Galway Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, Lothlórien Poetry Journal, Ekphrastic Journal Review, and Medusa’s Kitchen. Warner’s volumes of poetry include Rags and Feathers, Without Wheels, ShadowCat, Edges, Memento Mori, Serpent’s Tooth, Flytraps: Poems, “Cracks of Light: Pandemic Poetry & Fiction, Halcyon Days: Collected Fibonacci (2023) and Abraxas: Poems (2024)—as well as Masques: Flash Fiction & Short Stories.  He currently writes, hosts “virtual” poetry/fiction readings, turns wood, and enjoys fishing and boating along the Hood Canal. 

    

  

  

 

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