a villanelle
by Susan J. Wurtzburg
I sit, eyes wide-open, blank gaze,
Slow-panting dog at my back,
Ssh, ssh, soft breeze brushes hair.
Newsprint on the breakfast table,
Flaming pain bleeds white-and-black,
I sit, eyes wide-open, blank gaze.
WWII 𝔉𝔯𝔞𝔨𝔱𝔲𝔯 revival, a font label,
Brutal as “heil,” a trigger pull’s whack,
Ssh, ssh, soft breeze brushes hair.
Dog paw pastiches toes, under table,
Brings heart into mind’s teared track,
I sit, eyes wide-open, blank gaze.
Incomers, like me, toes under tables,
No papers safeguarding their backs,
Ssh, ssh, soft breeze brushes hair.
Blitzkrieg anew, focus: all of our vulnerable,
Let strong voices rise, we need to roar back,
I sit, eyes wide-open, blank gaze,
Ssh, ssh, soft breeze brushes hair.
Susan J. Wurtzburg has won or placed in several poetry competitions. She is a Commissioned Artist in Sidewalk Poetry: Senses of Salt Lake City, 2024, and an Associate Poetry Editor at Poets Reading the News. Her book, Ravenous Words, with Lisa Lucas will appear in spring, 2025.