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Charles
P. Ries (http://www.literarti.net/Ries/)
has had poems, short stories, and poetry reviews in over 120 publications. He
has had three Pushcart Prize nominations. He has a novel, The
Fathers We Find, and five
books of poetry, the latest, The
Last Time (The Moon Press,
Tucson, AZ). He is poetry editor for Word Riot (www.wordriot.org) and has read
on National Public Radio’s Theme
and Variations.
Charles P. Ries
Below the Floor
I live in the basement beneath the footsteps. The furnace whistles to me on cold days. The washing machine hums to me at night. My ex-wife lives one floor above, 10,000 miles away. My daughters with wings sail between heaven and earth. Getting honey from the clouds and iron from the brown soil.
My possessions are ideas. My lovers names all rhyme. My conquests are fictionalized.
The shadow side of home sweet home, where a giant prowls naked beneath the floor and ideas grow during intercourse.