J.K. Durick- Two Poems

                 Into the Well

 

He fell in that well, the deep dark one

we all know so well, he thought he saw

a familiar face down there, leaned forward

too far and fell, a familiar, perhaps friendly

face he needed to see and saw and fell

into the well; the folks going by didn’t

know what to do, not who to call at all

one said the sheriff, another  firemen

and others said no laws were broken and

of course, no fires  were burning, another

mentioned the splash they heard and

thought a lifeguard would be best, but

the town around is landlocked you know,

the only lifeguard works at the town pool,

which opened today and can’t be called away,

so how about family and friends, but no one

knew him or where he fit before he fell

and it was getting late and since his fate

was sealed when he fell in the well they

went on, too busy to be bother beyond

the scene they saw and suggestions they

made; he fell in the well, alone finally

with the only friendly face he ever found.

               The Past

 

After all that, we didn’t look back

We were finished, done with it,

Like it was finished, done with us.

We may have walked slowly,

Almost dragging our feet, but we

didn’t look back and kept going.

 

It was a small victory at that,

We didn’t need to discuss it –

Not looking back was all we had,

A small gesture, a conscious effort

That cost us a great deal, but we

Had won a round for this once.

 

We didn’t look back, as if it didn’t,

Didn’t matter, something so small we

Could turn our backs on with ease;

After all that was said, was done,

After all the planning and uncertainty,

After all that, we didn’t look back.

 

After all that, we didn’t look back,

Walked slowly and pretended

For once as if it didn’t matter.

 

 

 

J. K. Durick is a writing teacher at the Community College of Vermont and an online writing tutor. His recent poems have appeared in Eskimo Pie, Pacific Poetry, Ink Sweat and Tears, and Muddy River Poetry Review.