1. Another Drop in the Bucket List

I want to
touch my toes
    again
        before
           I’m sixty

the floor is
my ceiling

and when

I take off
my glasses and squint

within the grout
between the tiles
and cracks

I see stars

and phases
of the moon
in ragged toenails


2. Why I Will Never Touch My Toes Again

this morning I remember the vow
when I bend over to pet the toothless
dog on his rug when I
put on my shoes
when I stoop
to retrieve the French press
beneath the butcher block I remember

my father hissing so
you think you’re a man and ordering me
to put on the boxing gloves so he can
knock me around in the name of sport

      this morning the coffee has hints of grass and blood

when I scoop up the morning paper
and notice the dew on the lawn I hear
the rattle of the buckle as my father slips
off his belt off his rocker and barks—

Bio: Bob Lucky