…the mystery of beginning
Again and again.
—Delmore Schwartz
“In the Naked Bed, In Plato’s Cave”
His day lilies are fading. He looks back
once. The lock unhooked, he lifts his blue
bag. Tired eyes aching, the hall seems too long.
He tries not to fall. Heads someplace new
after slow decades. This mess will remain—
whoever comes next can make it neat
again. It was before. Touching the door,
he shuffles down much-loathed carpet, feet
charging his hand for a shock on the cage
elevator. What strict locks wait ahead?
Bell rings. The taxi waits. Hands off his keys.
Hopes a lily stands by his new bed.
Moving Day
Mark J. Mitchell has worked in hospital kitchens, fast food, retail wine and spirits, conventions, tourism, and warehouses. He has also been a working poet for almost 50 years. An award-winning poet, he is the author of five full-length poetry collections, and six chapbooks. His latest collection is Something To Be from Pski’s Porch Publishing. He is very fond of baseball, Louis Aragon, Miles Davis, Kafka, Dante, and his wife, activist and documentarian Joan Juster. He lives in San Francisco, where he makes his marginal living pointing out pretty things. He can be found reading his poetry here: https://www.youtube.com/@markj.mitchell4351 A meager online presence can be found at https://www.facebook.com/MarkJMitchellwriter/ A web site now exists: https://www.mark-j-mitchell.square.site/ He sometimes tweet @Mark J Mitchell_Writer