"Tomorrow We Break New Ground" and "Tag You're It"

Tomorrow We Break New Ground

But why wait –let’s do it now –break something we can build on.
Maybe we won’t have to break anything after all.
Maybe if we leave it whole and our
organs don’t fail and we love one another 
maybe we can fill up on junk and forget to feel alone. 
Maybe there’s paranoia we can build on.
Knocking on the door when nobody answers
–and we know you’re in there.  
You thought we were friends. Oh yeah sure.
But we’re not in the mood. Too many
issues. Too many difficulties and people who don’t 
know when you’re joking. 
You thought it was obvious –you can tell a skeptic 
from a distance –I’m not even talking about  
the switch you turn it on an off with 
–as if directing people’s thoughts was just a pain in your thumb.

 


 

Tag You’re It

The day after her operation she called in 
saying she had to work.
She couldn’t stand being away 
and refused to remain hospitalized. 
He said that was fine. 
He said he’d take her pain meds for her. 
“I’ll make sure to stay focused 
once they kick in,” he said. 
He took her morning dose and then her
afternoon dose for good measure. 
She didn’t seem at all surprised 
but she let him know 
that she had to take them too. 
He had to admit –to himself first of all 
that he hadn’t had any real reason 
for taking them. He hadn’t 
felt optimistic lately but not so terrible 
either. It was okay. It was 
a beautiful day. He forgot to attend 
a meeting. He thrust 
out his jaw. His top front 
teeth clung to the backs of his lowers.

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Gerald Yelle

Gerald Yelle has worked in restaurants, factories, schools and offices. His books include the bored, The Holyoke Diaries and Dreaming Alone and with Others. His chapbooks include No Place I Would Rather Be and A Box of Rooms. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.