Richard Schnap- Three Poems

DISCORD

Her parents never allowed her
To listen to rock and roll
Only classical music

And the only instrument
They would let her learn
Was the violin

But when she grew up
In the era of punk
Embracing its noise

Her instrument changed
From a cold piece of wood
To a deadly weapon



TELEMARKETERS

There was the laid off teacher
The retired stockbroker
The recovering alcoholic
The girl with the blue tattoo

The overweight drug dealer
The failed pop songwriter
The man who had a heart attack
In the middle of a call

But there was the hired actor
The couple who fell in love
The writer whose book was published
The graduate with high honors

The artist whose work was selling
The housewife finally divorced
The poet who saw the humanity
In the job no one would want



SEQUELS

I steal the dead’s dreams
So the world they took with them
Will still have a voice

My father’s vast library
Of timeless adventures
Dancing in my mind

My mother’s gold bracelet
Adorning the wrist
Of the one I hold close

And maybe this poem
A stranger’s last wish
For his heart to be heard