Disembodied

for Jo

She said—
……. I love walking the dog
……. ……. deep into the woods.

There I feel
……. so disembodied.
……. ……. so wonderfully small.

He said—
……. That is how I feel
……. ……. when standing on the shore

of the Atlantic Ocean,
……. or when I look up
……. ……. at the sweep of stars.

Or, he added,
……. when I lose myself
……. ……. in your arms.

……. ………………… ……. “Starry Night” by Gary Blankenburg

Falling Star

Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,
Never let it fade away.
……………………… ……. Perry Como

I was sitting on the back porch of the cabin
smoking a cigar after a late supper

and watching the sky scattered with stars,
while listening to you washing dishes inside.

Fireflies seemed to mirror the heavens above
with their twinkle and shine. Then I saw one star

explode into a streak that turned silver, then gold,
then orange as it fell from the sky and vanished

beyond a distant hill—and it flashed on me—
O Love, what if you should ever fall from my heaven?

© Gary Blankenburg

Gary Blankenburg has degrees from Illinois University (B.S., M.S.), Johns Hopkins University (M.L.A.), and Carnegie-Mellon University (D.A.). A retired English teacher, he is the author of several books of poetry and fiction and has published widely in small magazines, literary journals, and anthologies. He was a founding editor of The Maryland Poetry Review and has edited weekly poetry columns for a number of newspapers. His doctoral dissertation treated the confessional poets: John Berryman, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and W. D. Snodgrass. During the writing of the dissertation, he often met and consulted with Professor Snodgrass while he was at University of Delaware. He has begun to write again after a seven-year hiatus. Mostly, nowadays, he reads Victorian novels, smokes cigars, grows fat, and waits for the rapture.

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