MACHINE SHOPS
by  Roger Singer

MACHINE SHOPS
 
 
It’s a long whistle
putting the hand
on men and women
as the earth tilts
pulling them past
open wooden doors
into the maze
of machinery
where generations
stood and counted
hours and years
until the next
bodies of youth
replaced names
on lockers and
punch clock
numbers 
as the work
produced exceeded
the quality of the
soul

GREATER THAN ME


It was a blue
without end

an opening greater
than the sky
a place I touched

sand and rocks
I walked on

its where I could run
when running away

to hide in plain sight
while all other sounds
were blocked out
except the waves

I was a spot on the
shoreline
waiting to be pulled in
never to be disappointed
by its appearance
or it in mine

I’ll never be the same
nor do I want to be

A GENTLE END


Leaves arrange for night,
the aroma of dark green
stays close to the branches

crickets capture a
cruel cadence

velvet breezes close
the roses and day lilies

reed tops lightly rustle
a sandpaper hymn

fireflies light a path
to the nearest screen door
flashing creative energy

everything is painted
with coolness,
a reverent covering

we are south of the river
where blackbirds settle
in at dusk

day ends
achieving its goal
without remorse

About the Author:

Dr. Roger Singer has been in private practice for 38 years in upstate New York.  He has four children, Abigail, Caleb, Andrew and Philip and seven grandchildren.  Dr. Singer has served on multiple committees for the American Chiropractic Association, lecturing at colleges in the United States, Canada and Australia, and has authored over fifty articles for his profession and served as a medical technician during the Vietnam era. Dr. Singer has over 1,000 poems published on the internet, magazines and in books and is a Pushcart Award Nominee.  Some of the magazines that have accepted his poems for publication are:  Westward Quarterly, Jerry Jazz, SP Quill, Avocet, Underground Voices, Outlaw Poetry, Literary Fever, Dance of my Hands, Language & Culture, The Stray Branch, Toasted Cheese, Tipton Poetry Journal and Indigo Rising, Down in the Dirt, Fullosia Press, Orbis, Penwood Review, Subtle Tea, Ambassador Poetry Award Massachusetts State Poetry Society, Louisiana State Poetry Society Award, Mad Swirl Anthology 2018.