Crime Scene
The crime scene tape to keep others
from contaminating the area
had finally been removed.
Blood still covered the sidewalk after
Mother Nature committed her latest crime,
freezing the mist on the sidewalk,
watching an unexpecting walker slip and fall,
his feet moving one way, his head moving another,
the cement cushioning his fall,
while Mother Nature just smiled,
quite proud of her latest deed,
once again escaping arrest.
Self Portrait Revisited
The newspaper carrier did his usual,
throwing the paper on the driveway,
the paper waiting for me to wake up,
and pick it up to read at the breakfast table,
but today, the wind decided
to change the routine somewhat,
blowing it into the gutter, déjà vu all over,
of a time when I too lived where the paper now rested.
Thanks, paper, being so easily influenced,
agreeing with the wind to visit
a road I did not wish to revisit,
my breakfast entertainment, now ruined.
Present Danger Ahead
The electronic sign flashed
‘Eight hundred ninety-one deaths this year,
sixty-seven percent did not wear a seat belt.’
The State seemed concerned only for the people
traveling on their highways and interstates,
but ignored all the animals lying on the side
of the road, the deer, raccoons, possums, skunks,
and who knew what other creatures too
smashed up for identification as I drove on past.
Any fences for protection from the danger of passing
cars and trucks along these highways, non-existent,
something not fully understood by the helpless.
To all those who passed away, I pay my respects,
those inside the vehicles, and those outside trying to cross.
May they all rest in peace.
Leftover Man
Leftover Man,
the one designed to eat
all the leftovers from dinner meals,
those that couldn’t find room
in his stomach the night before.
The remains,
not buried in garbage cans,
or fed to the family dog,
now given a second chance,
another day of life.
The chosen one, always ready to enjoy
a second round for next day’s lunch,
heating them up, except for his specialties,
the desserts, his sweets, but after all,
that’s why he loves leftovers so much.
To read more poems by the same author, click here
About the Author
Duane Anderson currently lives in Olathe, Kansas. He has had poems published in Fine Lines, Cholla Needles, and several other publications. He is the author of ‘On the Corner of Walk and Don’t Walk,’ ‘Conquer the Mountains,’ ‘Family Portraits,’ ‘The Life of an Ordinary Man,’ and ‘In the Eyes Of.’
