Travis Stephens

one less

Dragon_of_Time_CY12_MHM8_-_Gouache_on_paper_8.3_x_11.7_in_©BEUCHET_Fabien2009.jpg
Dragon of Time by Fabien Beuchet

Because Tuesday
lacks the gravity
         of Monday
to arrive late
.           on Tuesday
is not a crime.
Today the fog
held the vines
close at hand,
the face of the Bay
.           veiled
         mysterious.
Enough to pause
the interminable
commute, pull over
and side road.
         Birds.
An unnamed brook
masking traffic,
the noise of
industry
commerce
and profit.
Who can calculate
the cost of
         one less worker?
In the maw of
the world’s
eighth economy
the public radio
recommends a series
of programs.
The brook listens &
murmurs assent.
.           I am late, boss,
but not sorry.
Have we learned yet
to monetize leisure
that doesn’t smell
.           of plastic,
.           gasoline
or regret?

 

About the writer:
Travis Stephens was raised on a dairy farm. He earned a degree at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, before departing for the West Coast. A sea captain, he now resides in California. Recent credits include Stoneboat Review, Crosswinds Poetry Journal, Southword, Havik, Apeiron Review, and Pennsylvania English. Online his was a Poem of the Week for Silver Needle Press and poems have appeared in Ink & Voices, Rue Scribe, Sheila-Na-Gig, and HCE Review.

Image: Dragon of Time by Fabien Beuchet. Gouache on paper. 8.3 x 11.7 inches. 2009. By permission.