Poetry by Mary Ellen Talley

      Stephen A. Wolfe CC




Sabotage as Dust Motes Scatter

She has just received probation as a voyeur
                If she falls upon slime left by wet leaves
                              she’ll wake up cold

Her balance used to be stellar
               There’s a snail in her ear
                              Can’t keep with the beat

She fears the metronome 
                It keeps on following 
                              a preemptory moon shadow

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Searching for a Superpower on Porch Steps at Centrum

Some days I wish my voice
would ricochet inside my pocket 
would focus on a truth--to score past
rough edges of my doubts. 

I dream someone around the corner
with satchels of warm sweaters
to warm me as a cool morning breeze
climbs the bluff from the ocean.

If weather changes and sun burns skin
the madrona tree on a nearby hill
will give me shade and space for syntax.

See how I call time my muse--
while I hold yarn taut, try to cast-on minutes 
building hours and days into warm sweaters.

I dream of gathering skeins of syllables
from which I’ll knit variegated poems 
in patterns of semantics.

Suddenly, a wild howl rises to the sky
and I turn to witness writers
in a circle upon the nearby open field
as their druid priestess in the center yells out,
Take in this moment--It is yours.
I have no idea of the context,
but I feel this priestess speaks to me,
her expansive voice
transforming the pen I hold into power.

A bee hovers along the concrete foundation
close to where I sit
and finds a spigot dripping water.
I wonder if this explorer hears my whisper,
senses sugar or sunscreen on my fingers?
I’m not worried, only wary
and filling with metaphors.
               I throw my voice upon the spigot.
                                Words trickle 
                                                 just enough to quench. 

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To Our Son Travelling Gig to Gig in August 

1
Remove tough gloves,
jerry-rig  
a Harley tire chain
or wait for AAA

Folks eye
your knuckle tats
at the roadside
burger joint

2
So easy to develop
windburn on the road
when driving the distance 
without a windshield

Best be on the lookout 
for bugs on your face at 90mph,
pelting hail in the Rockies,
direct sunlight

3
Have a new motor mount
and gear shift handle
mailed to our home
because you travel with tools

After you arrive
we’ll be careful
to skirt the oil pan 
in the garage 

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Mary Ellen Talley’s poems have been published in journals such as Ekphrastic Review, Caustic Frolic, and Inflectionist Review, as well as in several anthologies. Three of her chapbooks have been published: "Postcards from the Lilac City," from Finishing Line Press in 2020, “Taking Leave” from Kelsay Books in 2024, and “Infusion” online from Red Wolf in 2024. Her website is www.maryellentalley.com.
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