Morgan Michaels Poems

You sat on the sofa between plumped throws
the sofa's silken back conforming to your own-
its apple green stripes traversing your dress,
flowing down and onward, ending in a mess
...

That year Summer began early.The trees came to leaf quickly as the temperature soared but the dress code for exam week was unbudging: jackets and neckties for the men and full skirts for the women. The old campus simmered in a fever of matriculation. Extroverts became loners, the mouth-off, silent, the strong, weak and the brash, doubtful.Late-comers raced to be on time. Even geeks had qualms. Finally, the day was over.

That evening, Miggi stumbled home in a funk. Questions and more questions- all day long! In his head they swarmed again- revenge for lackadaisical study- questions whose answers he never knew and answers correct but lacking when due. He could think of few answered well. A bit dyslexic, he wasn't a good student, lacking enthusiasm for the role. He was embarrassed, but in a deeper sense, indifferent, to his rank. He'd passed- so he didn't feel hangdog. Actual grades meant diddly to him. But in Cuba, they determined job placement- so actually they mattered alot. Stragglers found themselves relegated to the bush.
...

If you want the phone to ring
take a hot shower.
If you want the bus to come
light your best pipe.
...

Ant: Ah, grasshopper, if you labored like me,
You'd needn't fritter away the day in song and play.

GH: Oh, ant, if you spent the day in song and play
...

My brother has a new cat- Carol.
Hugely fond of Carol
he calls her 'the cats' meow'
'She's amazing' he says, 'as a cat'.
...

My brother has a new cat- Carol.
Hugely fond of Carol
he calls her 'the cats' meow'
'She's amazing' he claims, 'as a cat'.
...

That evening I phoned the hospital in Reno. The operator transferred me to the cardiac unit where Ephron was. Actually, I phoned the nursing station. It was them who decided if and, if, for how long, a particular critical patient should talk on the phone before 'enough' became 'too much' and the phone got snatched back. They passed the phone to Ephron, guardedly.

'How y'doin', Buddy'? , I began.
...

He paused.

'But it was bad enough, I guess. 's been a roller-coaster ride since I hit the ER. I've surrendered, though. 'Que sera, sera'.
...

'Hi, buddy, how was your day', I cautiously began.

'Awful', he rasped. 'Non-stop. Every test in the book. They're so disorganized, here. What they need's a good conductor'.
...