Jon Wesick
The One-Bedroom Hermit’s Shack
In seclusion atop the six-story flats the sound of snowplows far below Shovels and ice scrapers long abandoned. The exercise bike a rack for my coat The Zoom call long over How fleeting this saha world Ten thousand comments and fifty-six praises returned to emptiness in a chat not saved The Amazon Prime renewal announces spring Swimsuits and garden supplies The laptop’s monitor reflects from the craft beer in my glass No wife or tedious obligations I don a faded T-shirt and N95 mask carry a reusable canvas bag on my daily rounds to the Stop n Shop. Dragon fruit, pearled barley, Dunkin’ whole-bean coffee. The onions won’t scan Mother and coughing toddler take the only working elevator. Sore knee, six flights of cracked stairs 24 pounds of bottled water. We’re all hermits now. Deep in a YouTube video about dreadnaughts and the Washington Naval Treaty. Urdu voices in the hallway. A child’s electric car Packing for Japan camp stove, ground cloth, waterproof matches. My flight – cancelled! Oh, where will I find the Buddha? Who will share this laptop’s amber glow? Snow on the balcony, eye drops, legal pad |
Jon Wesick is a regional editor of the San Diego Poetry Annual. He’s published hundreds of poems and stories in journals such as the Atlanta Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, I-70 Review, Lowestoft Chronicle, New Verse News, Paterson Literary Review, Pearl, Pirene’s Fountain, Slipstream, Space and Time, and Underside Stories. His most recent books are The Shaman in the Library and The Prague Deception. http://jonwesick.com