Max Reif Poems

The day I was born,
phantoms took my balls hostage.
They also took half my brain.
...

Youth, my untried powers
and the crimson glow of dawn,

youth and its infinite horizon,
...

When human beings lift a voice in song,
bowel movements, and quarrels somehow disappear.

These people at the Christian Conference at our hotel —
...

Time, that relentless snail,
outpaces every cheetah,

crawls on toward the infinitely
...

Pulling apart the plastic package
that enclosed the turkey slices,
I tore off a few for my lunch
and returned the rest to the package,
...

Without the taste of coffee
lingering on the tongue,
titrating into the cells-
would the world be complete?
...

Belligerent interviewer on NPR
talking to a rep from Hispanic culture
about 'English As the National Language',
...

In the plaza
I hear the fountain splashing.
In the courtyard
of the plaza
...

What God has ordained
can’t be avoided
We can’t see the marks
on people and places,
...

Look, I'm quite happy
As an introverted, sloppy,
Creative, easygoing, poor,
Overweight, insecure misfit!
...