Wayne F. Burke
Wayne F Burke's poetry, short stories, and non-fiction, has been widely published online and in print. He is the author of eight published full-length poetry collections and one published collection of short stories. He lives in the Green Mountain State, Vermont (USA).
It rained rocks in the old neighborhood where I grew-up (or just grew). The neighborhood known as “Zylonite”—a little patch of earth on the outskirts of a small mountain-town just south the Vermont state line.
Having shortness of breath and chest pain,
I thought ‘heart attack’, but
no
only arterial heart disease,
same as killed my father
he and sister’s souls black
as soot,
they would burn together
in the flaming pit.
digging down seven years
to my triple bypass
the bloody remnants
of that trip under lights
until cops came with their shining blue
light and
we ran
into the backyard shadows--
