solace
monday morning
and the anxieties pour out of me
noting but
chest pains and stomach cramps
as the morning d.j.
plays something sad
from two centuries ago
i hear a stray cat crying outside
opening the window
i search for him in the moody dawn
but i have no clue why
we can offer each other
no solace today
but just
this strange cold misery
that sometimes touches
every living thing.
About the Author: John Grochalski is the author of five poetry collections, three novels, and the novella Wolves of Berlin Headline Amateur Night at the Flute and Fiddle Pub (Alien Buddha Press 2024). He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Image Credit: Egon Schiele “Landscape with Raven” (1911) Public domain image courtesy of Artvee
As It Ought To Be 