1.
Staycation.
so stressful
this autumn. grateful
for
time away
from full-time
gig
and balmy
weather. perfect night
to
burn stuff
and write, solitary
in
sobriety rather
than lonely and
tipsy
with a
frenemy named Cab.
mind
is anxious
but will take
it
over sadness.
tonight, will mark
fifty
days I
fought for serenity
and
tomorrow, will
mark fifty-one.
2.
Trying
to stay
positive during this
election,
pandemic, an
unexpected diagnosis. a
reminder
of finite
time racing by.
hope
my aching
body does not
cross
finish line
until soul readies
only
when sole
purpose is complete.
3.
Nightfall.
church bells
ring. Six o’clock
feels
like midnight
and looks like
it
too. does
not sound like
it.
gossiping crickets,
the loud vroom
of
motorcycles out
for the last hurrah
before
cold snaps
and snow falls.
then,
winter will
sound like midnight
later,
after the
church bells rang.
4.
I
used to
be terrified of
the
dark, especially
in the present.
the
lights dimmed.
I could not
see.
now I
am more afraid
to
see a
permanent darkness tomorrow.
5.
Listen
to sound
of a distant
ambulance.
worry if
someone’s body gave
out.
inhale, a
somber reminder of
gnawing
pain in
my broken liver.
Lori Caskey-Sigety is an author, blogger, college instructor, editor, librarian, musician, photographer, poet, and writer from northern Indiana. She lives in a cozy historical home with her husband, Steve, and four rambunctious cats. She had had her words featured in An Ekphrastic Event for Sharing the Muse (poetry at the South Bend Museum of Art), Edible Michiana, Gamers Decide, Gnome Stew, Indiana Libraries, and WordPlay Anthologies I & II.
