singles bar: a haiku sequence
Dec 19, 2023
by
John J. Dunphy
Originally published in Frogpond 20:2
***
after twenty minutes of talk
the ice finally melting
in her glass
***
across the room
his ex-wife
***
the man hitting on her
grows more attractive
as the candle dims
***
at a table
‘Nam vet sits alone
in his wheelchair
***
the empty table’s ashtray….
two cigarette butts
still smoldering
***
phone number
on a crumbled napkin
floating in the mud puddle
John J. Dunphy’s poetry collections include Old Soldiers Fading Away, Zen Koanhead, Touching Each Tree, pagan rites, Bullet Cluster, Stellar Possibility and Dark Nebulae. He is also the author of non-fiction works such as Unsung Heroes of the Dachau Trials: The Investigative Work of the U.S. Army 7708 War Crimes Group, 1945–1947.