Swinge and Scatter
The cut-rate printer
never failed. Nevertheless,
it’s gone from the mess—
vexed and foiled
by some inky flaw.
The sprawl that remains
about my desk
is no mistake.
Swinge and scatter
my daily dance.
Cutting some mustard
above the chaos,
a cardboard box.
It holds, unsystematically,
stored receipts.
Boldly, it declares itself
“a BIG Nothing.”
Also loose in the clutter:
a magic trick list cozying up
to the magician’s top hat,
a basic no-crap calculator,
your savvy insider’s
“surprising literary sensation,”
and, holding together
nothing at all,
cellophane tape.
Roy J. Adams, semi-retired professor of Industrial Relations (McMaster), published his first literary poem at age 74 in 2014. His work has now appeared in litmags in Canada, U.S., Australia, U.K. and Singapore. His first full poetry book, Critical Mass, was published by Silver Bow Press in 2019.
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