Melanie Maier Poetry - Book Excerpts

Lord, what trick will you have
up your sleeve? A Job routine:
one bad thing after another.
The painful fade out.
What if I cooperate and let
my hair go gray, let go
of all remaining expectations:

will this get on your good side?
I want my departure fast,
just like my grandfather's.
You remember him, an old man
alone in the back of the bus
watching out the window, alive
with thoughts of his next gin game.

To hear Melanie read this poem, click here.