Untitled
by Doug Van Hooser
I should
be disappointed in myself.
A weeping willow
hiding under its leaf pleated skirt
of virgin optimism.
Hope’s darts rarely hit the board,
the bulls-eye shifts in my beholder’s eye.
But I shrug it off,
my GPS undeterred.
I have a few more than quite a few sharp edges
I need to grind
but I tell myself
the whetstone in my hand is adequate,
avoids cuts of the tongue.
Unabridged confidence,
always the correct adjective,
has a slip-slide thrill.
The line for another turn never too long.
Optimism an owl,
able in the dark to swoop upon
and talon prey.
Pessimism scurries
like a field mouse under the leaves.
Promise never starves.
Never aim for less
unless the goal is to come up short.
But why would I do that?
The rainbow touches the horizon.
—-
Doug Van Hooser’s poetry has appeared in Chariton Review, Split Rock Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Poetry Quarterly among other publications. His fiction can be found in Red Earth Review, Flash Fiction Magazine, and Bending Genres Journal. Doug’s play, “Here Ye, Hear Ye,”will be performed this summer at McKaw Theatre in Chicago.