The Grapes of Wrath

Spring’s dealings fall forward, like
its clocks. Other people’s cast-offs

make me nervous; poking through
them makes me murderous—

I would rather study the religious
leanings of the illegals

in the basement, those shy kindred
who are trampling out the vintage.

Brown as a bat’s hand, precise as a
decade of the rosary, they count

the patches on each elbow & knee;
I count on my fingers,

& the finger for you is missing.

Richard Fox has been a regular contributor of poetry and visual art to online and print literary journals. He has been recipient of a full poetry fellowship from the Illinois Arts Council, a CAAP work support grant from the City of Chicago, and a work fellowship at the Millay Colony. Swagger & Remorse, his first book of poetry, was published in 2007. He is currently working on several collections of soundscapes, which are being made available online at Bandcamp. A poet and visual artist, he holds a BFA in Photography from Temple University, Philadelphia. A former Chicago resident, he now lives in Salt Lake City, UT.