John Dorsey

Gerard Malanga’s Neck Ties
for bill roberts

beautiful women
once nearly tore them to shreds
what’s left is soft perfumed fingers
lost in a black & white photograph 
taken in saks fifth ave in 1962
every mother’s son
with hair gently brushed
with pearl white teeth
beaming with confidence
out front
cars honking
in the streets
in america’s wide arms
only to end up in a battered mailbox
on a narrow country road
one man’s past
is another’s time machine
when i place them against my skin
i feel as if I’m draped
in a better life.

 

The Christmas Dead

a few less cards
to put in the mail every year
a few more names
to take out of my phone
sometimes i forget one
& the other end of the line
is just dead silence
the only thing
that survives the cold. 

 

September Poem
for d.r. wagner

your hat tilted in the sun
later inside surrounded by books
chicken noodle soup & good conversation
we laughed so much
your face turned red
sitting on the porch.

 

John Dorsey is the former Poet Laureate of Belle, MO. He is the author of several collections of poetry, including Which Way to the River: Selected Poems: 2016-2020 (OAC Books, 2020), Sundown at the Redneck Carnival, (Spartan Press, 2022, and Pocatello Wildflower, (Crisis Chronicles Press, 2023). He may be reached at archerevans@yahoo.com.