I
dried tears
leave salt tracks

shed Rorschach faces

nurture memories
released
from hard service
as prison guards

II
roller coaster hearts
fly so fast

vision blurs
breath catches

without focus
tightened muscles
cannot guide

bodies flung
at every curve

& hearts collide
without design

III
in a field
of dried stalks
of past loves

lies a wicker cornucopia
woven from
the hollow reeds at hand

invisible
until spring

 

—
Herb Kauderer is an associate professor of English at Hilbert College, and has published a lot of poetry. More can be found about him at HerbKauderer.com.