Stone Soup Croutons, 4-17-24: Final Act

Stone Soup Croutons is a weekly poem I write using lines and impressions selected from Stone Soup Poetry's open mic readers and features. I figure out a title (and sometimes the rest of the poem) later. You can read the other ones I've done since 2015 here.

 

I also have a book collecting the best of my first year of poems. Click here to purchase it.

Last week, Sue Savoy featured at Stone Soup Poetry. Then many things happened between Friday and Monday morning, making this crouton poem very late. I'm glad I got the video of Sue's reading up as it was very well received.

I still have this week's Crouton to write. The best way to push through when you have self-imposed deadlines is to write your poem like you're writing a Sue Savoy poem (or try to anyway).Sue's poems are fun to listen to, so it was fun to make the attempt. 

Thanks for reading.

Final Act 

 

A man rising from 

his set on the train 

to let you sit just

might make up 

for the stray cat 

biting you when

you tried to pet it.

Or the dog in the

park that's digging 

a hole just big enough 

to sprain your ankle.

Or the medical bill 

for when the hospital

used extra tech that

lit up when they said

they can't help you. 

Or the injustices of 

a man who wears 

his women's hearts

like clown noses, 

whose presence 

shadows the earth 

like an eclipse people

can't stop blinding 

themselves over.

Or the stray bullet 

fired by a soldier

who mistakes you 

for a protester just

because you chose 

to be out in the daytime.

That one kind act 

may help a little, if

it's the last thing 

going through your head

before the bullet. 

Rich Boucher didn't read. Why'd I put him on twice?

Special thanks to Richard Spisak, Jackie Chou, Ken Johnson, Jan Rowe, Robert Fleming, Ethan Mackler, Dhyana, James Van Looy and special feature Sue Savoy.