by Earl J. Wilcox
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| “Puff of Wind,” painting by Tonya Schultz. |
By some ancients’ reckonings
Five decades are a puff in the wind
A tick in the tock of time.
Summing up by comparison needs
Too many tropes to catalogue—
As Milton or Whitman might—
A few more than Miz Dickinson
Did nearing the end of her years
In the same house, rooms familiar
To her as butterflies or gentle poots.
My leaving this house feels more
Like Frost traveling to Florida
Near wintertime or south to Boston
On occasion—journeys which
Beckon or intrigue may satisfy
The urge to know what lies
Ahead more than gone before.
While it is not true that Earl Wilcox has been sending poems to The New Verse News for 50 years, he has contributed about two dozen in the past 15 years.