garments

by

John J. Dunphy

(Published in Issue 45 (September 2019) of Otata)

******

for the first time

a Vietnam veteran wears

his uniform in public

open coffin

*****

homeless shelter

Santa hands out

donated used coats

*****

wino alley —

the new guy still wears

his army jacket

*****

yard sale

a christening dress damp

from raindrops

*****

resale store

a student and her teacher shop

for a prom dress

*****

Decoration Day parade

a veteran’s uniform

reeks of mothballs

*****

commencement ceremony

a migrant farm worker adjusts

his daughter’s mortarboard

________

John J. Dunphy’s poetry works include Old Soldiers Fading Away, Zen Koanhead, Touching Each Tree, Stellar Possibilities and Dark Nebulae. His prose works include Unsung Heroes of the Dachau Trials: The Investigative Work of the U.S. Army 7708 War Crimes Group, 1945–1947, From Christmas to Twelfth Night in Southern Illinois, and Abolitionism and the Civil War in Southwestern Illinois.