Out Walking

I saw a bloated dog in water
bobbing, riding the steady roll of parting waves
alongside the tree lined banks of the River Charles
one Sunday morning;
white-crested, the unfolding wake of many boats
as they’d go, setting out toward Boston Harbor in
bright sunlight, shimmering diamonds strewn about
his lifeless body, just a pup.

Jack Russell, he was.

Collared, in dark blue leather with tags,
no more than two or three years young.
Swollen toward bursting, sweet soft belly
become a balloon, eyes staring up at me
showing no color, save for two ghostly marbles
of dull, pale blue, that made me stop
to catch a falling of tears,
out walking.

I was born across the bridge from Boston, Massachusetts, in Cambridge, as July 4th fireworks exploded over the Charles River, just a stone’s throw from Harvard University. At age two, my family moved to Somerville, Ma.,where I was raised in a rough blue-collar environment, playing many sports. In 1998 I relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada. Here, I work among special needs children and teach martial arts. Poetry began in high school, but took off in a more dedicated way in later years, along with resuming music studies, guitar. My poems are published in various anthologies; including Impressions, Prism, and the Mighty Voices Of Thunder Series, sponsored by the international poetry website, “Allpoetry.” I was a featured poet in Lyrical Somerville February 2015, a Boston based publication, as well as being an “Editor’s Front Page Pick,” for the month of March 2016 on Allpoetry. A defining moment that contributed significantly to further interest in writing was a First Place Award from the International Poetry Fellowship, for my poem, “Among Fields of Cotton.” Presently, I am happy to have the opportunity to explore various forms of poetry with Mr. Bruce Isaacson, Poet Laureate of Clark County Nevada.