November Poet Steve Henn
Inspirational Speaker
I thought I’d let some cool air in
to the classroom so I opened the door
but the kids in the hall are noisy
and we’re all gonna die.
We’re reading Scott Russell Sanders
about his alcoholic father and
going where the pain is and
we’re all gonna die.
We got banana splits for Teacher
Appreciation Week today.
We’re all gonna die.
The kids share journals about
their tight meaningful relationships
with teachers in other departments
I can’t say it makes me jealous but anyway
we’re all gonna die.
The clock is ticking to the end
of the schoolyear, the beginning of summer, refreshing,
like a breath mint, we’re all gonna die.
I’ve got no reason not to live
just like I’ve got no reason
to be depressed I’ve got an oriole
in my chest the dull knife
of my heart saws at my insides
it will portion me into bite-sized pieces
from within without.
Jack’s Gettin Up There
I told Jack I don’t know
if I’ll make it to 70 and
he laughed and then he didn’t.
Jack’s gotta be 80. Once
in class some kid asked him
what Viet Nam was like
and he said “a real picnic.”
He’s got a crusty exterior
but a heart bigger’n’ a wooly
mammoth’s. I fear the day
he dies. I fear it like
I fear the death of my own
mother. It would be
wonderful to let go
of the fear. It would be
so beautiful, not to be afraid.
Latte Interlude
it is raining and 50 degrees
in June so cold but I am not depressed
in the coffeehouse reading again
I don’t know what else
to do with my life
Dave G shows up
a person infiltrating this poem
“What’s good” he doesn’t say
in so many words I tell him I am trying
to make books happen in unlikely places
wishing for a local friend
who writes – of course this summer is full
of notebooks –
God Bless this merry coffee house tho
it gives me somewhere to go
God Bless Tim who owns and runs it
God Bless Indiana ambivalent tho I am about her
Land of my Birth, may Grace
somehow change you
Awareness Level: Eleven
There’s a tunnel at
the end of hope. All
my chances at love
slurp down
that way in fits
and starts like
the dregs of a blended
mocha. I’m starting
to go off on dudes
but mostly on my
self. Dear God,
Dear Jesus, Whoever,
I’m starting to wonder
If I can take 20, 30 more
years of this. Lord, don’t
give me what I want.
Just yesterday I dreamt
I really met a woman
of intrigue so now
I’d like her to materialize.
Beam er down, Scotty.
Make her lonely and
a writer, like me.
Make her someone
I can swap poems with,
writing all night
together. “Try this…”
she’ll say, reading my
poem, and I’ll read hers
and say “This is great!”
and I’ll really mean it.
Okay
I’m learning to be okay.
It’s a quiet marvel.
Sit and breathe. Eat some
almonds. Read a book.
I don’t mind as much
when the world moves
slow. I sit with stillness.
I despair like anyone.
Mostly due to loneliness. I love
poets and writers but a person
in a book is not a person
you can talk to. I am learning
to pray, which is also not
a person, quite, not one
directly talking to you.
But One you can talk to.
Then wait. Listen.
Dear God, I say,
like I’m writing a letter.
How are You? Bless
everyone. Please help
me. Us. Help us too.
Once We’ve Got It
We Don’t Want It
How did I get this old
and still have no one
to hang out with?
Pray for deliverance. Pray
for a companion. Pray
my kids still find me useful
in fifteen years. Remember
when another trip to the play park
was another peerless burden? As if
all our friends were discovering
the meaning of life in their stupid 20s.
I have no one to see because
I have nowhere to go. Oh, whoa.
Where do we go, where do we go,
now, where do we go? I fear losing
all sense of humor. Brittle and witty,
mind in a tizzy. I need a bracing
mouthwash. Show me the internet’s
unquenchable information regarding
the addictiveness of cheese.
Comparable to heroin, Buzzkill.com
says. Quick, then. Somebody
order a pizza. If that won’t fix
us, we’ll figure out what will.
Steve Henn wrote Indiana Noble Sad Man of the Year (Wolfson Press, 2017) and two previous collections from NYQ Books. A chapbook, Guilty Prayer, is due out Spring 2021 from Main Street Rag Publishing. Find out more at therealstevehenn.com.
Preorder Guilty Prayer chapbook now:
https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/guilty-prayer-steve-henn/
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