Yellow Mama E zine

Sunday Morning

 

by Craig Kirchner

 

The first is listening,

listen closer, closer still.

The sharp snap of fingers

in the distance,

nothing else sounds quite the same,

friction pressured to a pop,

air has moved.

 

The dog jumps from the bed,

knowing the beckon

of his friend’s keeper,

pla-plops down the steps,

steam mists from her yellow stain

in the new snow,

first-floor neighbors leave for church.

 

Vaguely the coffee

perking acquiesces,

is dominated by the mahogany smell,

only one sense is working at a time.

The paper has not

yet been delivered,

the ritual is not complete,

 

nonetheless the touch and rub

 of bedclothes fondles warm

reluctant risers, and the winter sun

grudgingly reveals itself.

The air moving now brings the shiver,

of familiar skin to skin

meeting the chill of the new day.

 

 

       Craig Kirchner is retired and living in Jacksonville, FL, because that’s where his granddaughters are. He loves the aesthetics of writing, has a book of poetry, Roomful of Navels, and has been nominated three times for a Pushcart. Craig's writing has been published in Chiron Review, Main Street Rag, The Wise Owl, Yellow Mama, About Place Journal, and dozens of others. He houses 500 books in his office and about 400 poems on a laptop; these words help keep him straight. More about Craig can be found on Bluesky, and there is an interview up at Spillwords.

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Cindy Rosmus originally hails from the Ironbound section of Newark, NJ, once voted the “unfriendliest city on the planet.” She talks like Anybodys from West Side Story and everybody from Saturday Night Fever. Her noir/horror/bizarro stories have been published in the coolest places, such as Shotgun Honey; Megazine; Dark Dossier; The Rye Whiskey Review, Under the Bleachers, and Rock and a Hard Place. She is the editor/art director of Yellow Mama. She’s published seven collections of short stories. Cindy is a Gemini, a Christian, and an animal rights advocate. She has recently branched out into photo illustration.