Category Archives: sonnet

2025, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, sonnet, summer, Working Class Literature

Sonnet about when the HVAC in a heat wave

We will not be broken by the heat
though the dogs languish and pant
in spite of fresh cold water in the kitchen.
There is no option but exist as best we can
soak in the cool morning air
embrace the relief of night rain
the sky cracking lightning after the long
sweaty burn of the day

taking in the dance of bats after sunset
as we sit on the back porch, finding
civility in the constant experiment
defining our home – your rescued plants
my unfinished projects – against a world
of mass-produced distraction.

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2025, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, sonnet

we are at war with the trees

data centers sprout like liberty gardens
we are at war with the trees
fiber optic roots stretch underground
a jungle of power lines overhead

we are at war with the trees
Congress is extending the hunting season
since we can’t trust the animals
and the subversive nature of fish

is well documented // fiber optic roots eat
into the subfloor of our most sacred monuments
but we have bought off the rats
and legions guard the tendrils tying us together

the jungle is all copper two and three phase
we are constructing equitorial power plants
big pharma is solving our addiction
to free-range oxygen // beware the fish

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2025, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, sonnet

Baptisms come wrapped in pvc, too

This Sunday, the prayer involves
hoping the kitchen sink repair holds;
being raised in a small town
of too many churches, I was taught
all divine petitions should be specific
especially those that involve plumbing.

Following scripture, I pray alone
knees on linoleum, head bowed
and in the cabinet as I wrestle this devil
of a P-trap. After all
heaven helps those who DIY — right?
The sermons are not clear on this point
but a 2nd pilgrimage to the hardware store
might offer the proper revelation.

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