Two poems by Richard King Perkins II

Vanishing the Erudite Troglodyte

A fallen shard of moonlight echoes

off the visage of your unpocketed watch,

reminding us it’s place or time

for midnight brunch.

Hopping in the shadowless garden,

I twirl a contemplative sundial,

spinning the earth and stars

like blossoms in a slot machine—

three oranges scintillate,

sparkle, squeeze and wink,

suspended like bronze mirage

in latent patina drift.

You disintegrate but thirteen movements

later, reappear substrataly,

vacuously cradling a Dutch oven

found singing with bits of California.

One road, one bridge and one rainbow

have been sacrificed

for all this to be possible.

Returning home has been impossibly negated—

like eclipsing the fullness of the sun

with the curve of your hand at noon.

+++++++++++++++++

Hoofprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamt he was walking across the beach

with Satan. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene,

he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonged to himself,

and the other belonged to Satan.

As the final scene of his life was played out before him, he looked back at

the footprints in the sand. He observed that oftentimes along the path of his

life, there was but a single set of footprints. He also noticed that it occurred

at the lowest and most troublesome times of his life.

This quite upset the man and he asked Satan about it. “Satan, you told me that

when I decided to follow you, you’d never abandon me. Yet I’ve noticed that

during the most difficult times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.

I don’t understand why when I needed you most, you would leave me.”

Satan replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I could never leave

you. During those times of tribulation and suffering, when you see only one

set of footprints, it was then that you carried me.”

Author bio: 

Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He has a wife named Vickie and a daughter named Sage. His work work has appeared in hundreds of publications including Soundings East, Prime Mincer, The Red Cedar Review, Prairie Winds, and Sierra Nevada Review.