Keeping it in Perspective
My triglycerides are down
that’s a cliff I didn’t fall off
I might live a little longer than
expected milkweed is growing
in the garden again here’s hoping
we get butterflies this year
but for now I’m looking in the mirror
checking for messages from the past
or from the future I can still walk
still ride a bicycle I’m lucky
in numerous ways there is war
in Ukraine war in Palestine
war in so many places
that don’t get that same level of attention
a Cold War in Korea
a hot one in Myanmar corruption
in far more places than you will ever
find honesty and basic human decency
and all I have to complain about
is the weather being too hot
and the traffic worsening almost
weekly in the mirror I see
that my skin is flaking again
and then you walk in and I forget
all of my worries it’s almost dark
out now and we’re reaching
the hour when time stands still for us
the moonlight glittering as it glances
off the window glass like shards
of ice that even now still
manage to penetrate my chest.
© Paul Ilechko
Paul Ilechko is a British American poet and occasional songwriter who lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ. His work has appeared in many journals, including The Bennington Review, The Night Heron Barks, Atlanta Review, Permafrost, and Pirene’s Fountain. His first book is scheduled for 2025 publication by Gnashing Teeth Publishing.
The Loch Raven Review 