She falls in the springtime 
and decides not to get up again. 

The pain is a new concentric circle, 
a revelation Dante overlooked. 

People tired of sheltering, zombies 
wearing pajamas in public. 

She counts her blessings 
as if slices at the deli counter. 

Gratitude by the pound 
is worth the wait, she decides. 

She checks the ticket; 
she is hero number 67. 

They are only up to 14, 
so she spends the time 

trying to recall 
all the lyrics to “American Pie” 

and their associated meanings—
footnotes to ancient history. 

The lady in front of the line 
has a mask that doesn’t cover her nose. 

Humanity’s imperfections are 
an endless parade of head-shakers. 

And she tries harder than ever 
to avoid any public restroom. 

The invisible dangers float around her 
hidden behind the dangers she sees. 

There is no safety, but was there ever? 
The illusion was fun while it lasted. 

Like bright lights off a spinning disco ball, 
she was content in her distraction. 

Now she dances in isolation, 
and perhaps catches a sad glance 

at herself in a dusty mirror, 
expression fixed firmly in place 

when the realization strikes: 
this is what WWIII looks like. 

Gary Glauber

champions the underdog, and strives to survive modern life’s absurdities. A widely published poet, fiction writer, teacher, and former music journalist, Glauber has in print two poetry collections, Small Consolations (Aldrich Press) and Worth the Candle (Five Oaks Press), and two chapbooks, Memory Marries Desire (Finishing Line Press) and The Covalence of Equanimity (SurVision Books), the latter of which was a winner of the 2019 James Tate International Poetry Prize. Two new collections are forthcoming soon: Rocky Landscape With Vagrants (Cyberwit.net) and A Careful Contrition (Shanti Arts Publishing).

More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond

⚡ Another Bad Year for Florida Man, poem here in MacQ (Issue 1, January 2020); nominated for Best of the Net 2020

⚡ Two Poems in Cultural Weekly (16 May 2018): “The Unearthing” and “Luggage”

⚡ A Capitol Idea, micro-fiction in KYSO Flash (Issue 12, Summer 2019)

⚡ The Sum of Three Parts During a Humdinger, micro-fiction in KYSO Flash (Issue 12, Summer 2019)