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Sunday, April 25, 2021

A YEAR IN

by Ilene Millman


Source: The New York Times, April 22, 2021


in a blue funk in    sunk in    a fly in amber   a pig in a poke
no walk in the park  this tempest in a teapot  this stitch in time
a brick in my hand    its foot in my door   like a fox in the henhouse
plugged in   unhugged in   in what, more than a year in?
a woman’s place in   in the homein    inthehome  a man’s place inthehome
inthehome the child   cuckoo in the nest   sitting in the catbird seat
couched in down in     drawn in and done in   carved in stone, no exit.
                   at this juncture/moment/ point in time
oh, to be out in left field    back in business     full swing in quest of
caught in the act of     caught up in        in cahoots with
to be in contact      in contact with     in good company
in touch     in touch with     walking out and about in
and in view of      knee deep in     teeth in    zhuzhed up laughing in the aisles
out in      all in   in awe of
 
 
In addition to writing poetry, Ilene Millman is a speech/language therapist currently volunteering as tutor, tutor trainer and assessor for her county Literacy Volunteers organization. Her poems have been published in a number of print journals including The Journal of New Jersey Poets, Nelle, Connecticut Review, Paterson Review, Passager,  The New Verse News, and anthologized in several volumes including the recently published Show Me Your Papers. She is an associate editor of The Sow’s Ear. Her first book of poetry, Adjust Speed to Weather, was published in 2018.