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Submission Guidelines: Send 1-3 unpublished poems in the body of an email (NO ATTACHMENTS) to nvneditor[at]gmail.com. No simultaneous submissions. Use "Verse News Submission" as the subject line. Send a brief bio. No payment. Authors retain all rights after 1st-time appearance here. Scroll down the right sidebar for the fine print.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

LEADER

by Mike McCulley


A leader without a following is just
a guy taking a walk, listening
to voices in a dream, listening
to music in his head, watching dancers

hop around on the grass. A leader
without a plan is just a mug
looking for something to do, listening
for change in the grass, watching fog

clear, scuttling around showing a wave
and grin. A leader without direction
is just a guy looking for sheep
to follow, looking for a parade

with a bigger band and more elephants,
skipping through the grass
looking for a place to hide.


Mike McCulley:
Retired from educating
rewired for recreating
pastime birding,
part time wording.