Gene Bild
Retired high school math teacher Gene Bild lives contentedly in Chicago with his wife and two cats. Besides writing poetry, he occasionally reviews graphic novels for the Graphic Medicine website, and eagerly awaits the return of the 60's.
2020
We’ve always worn masks;
this was simply the year
they finally came off.
Salacious Cetaceans
It's said that gray whales mate face to face
I hope while engaged in happy embrace
that they drink deeply of their lover's eyes
though some will say I anthropomorphize
I endured the pandemic
binging cooking videos
while playing in the kitchen
Sweating garlic is now no sweat
Onions caramelize before my gaze
I follow the tao of the omelet pan
dicing
dredging
drizzling
but I paid a price for my peace:
I never thought I'd be that person
favoring a certain muffin tin
Gum
Walking behind basketball-bouncers
maybe 9, 10 years old,
debating the fate of their chump change:
"We're getting gum!"
"We're not getting gum!"
"We're getting gum!"
"We're not getting gum!"
The ball punctuating the not
in each declaration.
Repeated and re-repeated,
until at the corner
I peeled left, and they went right.
I'm betting they bought gum.
Friends Don't let Friends Write Drunk
This poem was really much better last night.
Reckless Eyeballing
stabbing the faces
of strangers
with your eyes
as you slice through the crowds
seeing the lost
dead friends
old lovers
family
ghosts cry out to you
but you never find
that one face
you most want
to behold again
your own
Press Release
This week’s free money giveaway
will be held at the Necropolis.
Children will be urged to riot and trample.
Their battle cry: “Gimme some!”
Testosterone-laced refreshment
hawked throughout the cheap seats
and prizes will be given
to the fans involved in the biggest brawls.
Our champion team, The Hobnailed Boots,
will defend against all comers.
Patriotic halftime entertainment
includes a respectful tribute to
First Nation culture by
the local charter school’s striptease team.
