Thanksgiving 2022
Poetry by Mark Hammerschick
The roast beast is resting quietly
crisp green beans melt with garlic
pork stuffing broods slowly
onions and celery seethe
edging ever so closely
to battered mashed potatoes
salad slides
rolls are slashed
candied yams recoil
cranberries drift
memories of corn stalks melt
talking faces flutter
in the hazy late afternoon
wining away a Petite Sirah sloshing
violently at the edge of your mouth
you don’t notice
you never do
pass the patience
load up on guilt
taking your personal trip
as you gaze hollowly at the view
gnarled Frazier firs
swaying bending undulant
and for a brief moment
your eyes hit the sunlight
and then nothing
as you stare into the mac and cheese
melting
as you fade into the haze
noshing chewing
pistons pummeled
mumbling your guilty lies
despised shunned
sitting on the last step
laughing
as you shred the last drumstick
and fling it into the forest
dark and deep
lots of miles to go
until you finally sleep
catatonic
final waves
so we wait and suffer
you
crisp green beans melt with garlic
pork stuffing broods slowly
onions and celery seethe
edging ever so closely
to battered mashed potatoes
salad slides
rolls are slashed
candied yams recoil
cranberries drift
memories of corn stalks melt
talking faces flutter
in the hazy late afternoon
wining away a Petite Sirah sloshing
violently at the edge of your mouth
you don’t notice
you never do
pass the patience
load up on guilt
taking your personal trip
as you gaze hollowly at the view
gnarled Frazier firs
swaying bending undulant
and for a brief moment
your eyes hit the sunlight
and then nothing
as you stare into the mac and cheese
melting
as you fade into the haze
noshing chewing
pistons pummeled
mumbling your guilty lies
despised shunned
sitting on the last step
laughing
as you shred the last drumstick
and fling it into the forest
dark and deep
lots of miles to go
until you finally sleep
catatonic
final waves
so we wait and suffer
you
About the writer
Mark writes poetry and fiction. He holds a BA in English from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and a BS and MBA. He began writing in grade school and has contributed a number of poems to literary journals over the years and has been published sporadically. He is a lifelong resident of the Chicago area and currently lives in a northern suburb near the shore of Lake Michigan and in Naples, Florida. His current work will be appearing in: Calliope, Former People Journal, Sincerely Magazine, Mignolo Arts, Blue Lake Review, Naugatuck River Review, East on Central, Grey Sparrow Journal, Griffel, Wood Cat Review and The Rockvale Review.
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