Poet Laureate

for Ted Kooser

Self proclaimed Hobbit,
downward sloping mic,
Ted, the poet laureate,
catches my eye as
we walk down
glistening back road
memories,
through the natural —
and side step lightly over
dead mother issues.

His mouth caresses
my ears with
orgasmic pleasure,
until I quiver
with metaphor,
tearing for joy that
this man’s tongue
was not lost to cancer
seven years ago.

Our hands meet
as equals,
the same hands
that brandish pens
as swords —
as truth serum wands.
I add my name
to his list,
thoughts bristling
with fond anticipation
of his Valentine’s Day
postcard poem.

— Victoria Dym

Victoria Dym has worked as a stage, screen and television actress and a Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey clown. She lives in Mount Lebanon. Many writers featured in Chapter & Verse are guests of Prosody, produced by Jan Beatty and Ellen Wadey. Prosody airs every Tuesday at 7 p.m. on independent radio, WYEP 91.3 FM.