I saw one of those pharmaceutical ads on TV today. It opened with people playing at a swimming pool. The first line of this poem was my first reaction to the opening images.

They look like drowning ants
on the surface of the pool
stung by the cruelty of summer

Their pitch is far beyond
the limits of my hearing
Sgt Pepper’s whistle is now silence

The subtle changes in body language
are the signals I seek
I’ve left my secret decoder ring at home

Water, water everywhere
How do the rays swallow
as they angle their way into the ocean depths?

A whirlpool forms above the conduit
until the surface is clear
and the cement has dried

(18 March 2021)

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Wishes sometimes have consequences is available to order from your favorite local bookstore.

IndieBound search: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=wishes+sometimes+have+consequences

If they can’t get it for you, you can always find it on Amazon:
Hardcover: https://smile.amazon.com/Wishes-Sometimes-Consequences-Kevin-OConner/dp/0998878154/
Paperback: https://smile.amazon.com/Wishes-Sometimes-Consequences-Kevin-OConner/dp/0998878162/

Information about my other books can be found here.