I keep an online file I call ‘Warm-Up Exercises’ where I keep small bits I have written and like, but which might not rise to the level of a complete poem. I have occasionally shared these in the past; here are a few more.

Losing weight, once beyond our youth,
is like stopping a lake freighter:
it takes forever to reverse the propellers,
to begin moving back up the channel
and towards open water.
     _______________

fences break
children leave gates open
and gentle pets wander,
so not every dog
can live in every neighborhood
     _______________

Rules for a Recess Supervisor*:
     don't let a 5th grader ruin your day;
     don't put up with too much nonsense, 
     but expect and cherish some;
     not everyone will like you.
(*of which I am one)
     _______________

There is a difference between
long-time friends
and those who were friends
a long time ago.
     _______________

MID-SEPTEMBER IN MICHIGAN
The peaches have gone mealy,
which makes me sad to say, 
and pears are now revealing
that fall is on its way.

Information on purchasing my book – SLOW RIVERS: Poems from My Sixties – is available at josephneely.com. Please consider ordering SLOW RIVERS through your local bookstore (ISBN 979-8-218-43822-7). SLOW RIVERS is currently in-stock at Schuler Books in Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and West Bloomfield and also at a handful of other independent bookstores in Michigan. Shoot me an email for a list of stores at which SLOW RIVERS is usually in stock.: slowriverpoems@gmail.com.

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A new poem every so often.
(No regular schedule right now; life gets in the way.)

Joseph Neely, all rights to original material reserved.