Two by Sheila E Murphy

Intonation

Monotony infringes on

philosophy. Consider

rumination an invasive

norm. Aquiring

beyond spatial

limitations.

When the heart relaxes

into mezzo sop-,

then dearly held

addictions linger

amid strangers

who outlast

the piebald weather's rigid

and intemperate unison,

questioning local control.

The poor are always

holograms. One keeps

chiefly to oneself, again.

The ritual of speaking

the unspeakable

dimensions.

Scholar's Plate

Walnut.

Chestnut.

Peanut.

Round squash.

Cloud-free

daylight

bodes well.

What next?

Put back:

tap shoes,

white lies,

backlash.

Known feel.

Sand trap.

Free zone.

Come back.

Sheila E. Murphy’s most recent books include Continuations 2 (with Douglas Barbour) from the University of Alberta Press, and American Ghazals, from Otoliths Press. Both books appeared in 2012. Murphy lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where she is Principal with the firm Executive Advisement, LLC, a newly merged organization emphasizing services to chief executives of private, public, and nonprofit companies. Murphy is a lifelong teacher, poet, and recently a visual artist.