Practicum

Practicum

Once gravedigger

puts on the forceps,

clocks start ticking,

sand sifts down

the big hourglass.

The race is on.

Not a soul wants

to face harsh truths.

Instead we explore

a world of distraction:

sports, knowledge, rules,

regulations, theories, recipes.

We analyze, we proselytize.

We judge and are judged,

yet we cry out

for companionship.

Misery loves company

and hates isolation.

Let us face that fear

of the unknown together,

or better yet collapse

in a spent heap after

raucous bout of

unbridled passion.

Love is every answer.

Let us dream and be dreamt of,

close contact as best defense.

Fight loneliness

and conquer death

momentarily

via la petite mort,

a training exercise

that’s proven effective;

a touch of pleasure

delays inevitable reckoning

already fast on its way.

Gary Glauber

Gary Glauber is a poet, fiction writer, teacher, and former music journalist.  His works have received multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. His two collections, Small Consolations (Aldrich Press) and Worth the Candle (Five Oaks Press), and a chapbook, Memory Marries Desire (Finishing Line Press), are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and directly from the publishers.