June Stepansky Poems

I wanted a small thing really.
I wanted to be happy.

That was my mistake,
...

Candide, in his wisdom, said,
“Let us cultivate our garden.”
No small endeavor,
which, in the aggregate,
...

He loved her
for the curve
of her breast,
and her pretty smile.
...

He walks me to the streetcar.
I am fifteen, he is nineteen.
We have just met.
It starts to snow.
...

Light shimmers
through louvers.
The empty bed
rumpled
...

Belief is not truth.
Everyone believed
that the earth was flat
until Columbus discovered
...

Gardenias whisper secrets
in the ears of young girls.
Gardenias promise love and proms,
everlasting youth and joy.
...

I am a conduit
radiating
in a green oasis,
sheathed in
...

I once read a story about an infant
who was neglected by his parents,
and who saw from his bed
outside his window
...

A juggler knows
the importance of
balance.
A tight-rope walker
...