Tom Hatch- Two Poems

Fading into the Wall While Talking to Yourself

Speaking to this man I knew him when
He was young in a bright sunlit room

Bold shadows he cast every movement
Crisp and clear his shadow on the walls
Bold arrogant youth he spoke to
The young arrogant's actually took note
His students paused in afterthought

Window shades are drawn the shadow is hard to find
Or the days are not as bright...take your pick
The students are gone to fulfill hopefully that afterthought
Solitude is fine the phone rings unanswered
Even though the man is fading in the shadow into the wall
His silhouette receding but I still speak to him
As often as he listens



Ankles Speak of Beautiful Toes

The most beautiful toes are
in your shoe the whispering
ankle tells me this with the
flowing knowing form from
knees curved touched by
the timeless hem of a thin open skirt
resting from
The inspiration of the French Curve
That made scrolls of filigree in
Florence rivaling Ghiberti’s
Doors of Paradise which are
a favorite of mine that
tell stories of god and humans
hearing whispers again taking
your shoe off I was a believer your
ankle spoke the truth of beautiful toes
and spoke the
secret of Brunelleschi Dome
As we sat on the bank of the Arno
In the shade of the Ponte Veechio
After locking our locks together
joined forever on the bridge



Bio

Tom paid his dues in the SoHo art scene way back when. He was awarded two NEA grants for sculpture back then. And taught at various colleges and universities in the NYC metro area in art (including Princeton and U of Penn. in Philly). He feels he is a regular at The Camel Saloon and BoySlut. He has published at The Mind[less] Muse, Jellyfish Whispers, Napalm and Novocain, Dead Snakes, Rusty Truck and Pyrokinection among others. He has recently had a poem nominated for The Best on The Net. He lives in CT with a few farms up and down the road works in Manhattan. His train ride to and from NYC is his solace, study and den where it all begins and ends.