Mark Danowsky’s poetry has appeared in About Place, Allegro, Beechwood Review, The Broadkill Review, Cordite, Elohi Gadugi, Grey Sparrow, and elsewhere. His mini-chapbook, NIGHTFALLEN, was published by Origami Poems Project in 2016. Originally from the Philadelphia area, Mark currently resides in North-Central West Virginia. He works for a private detective agency and is Managing Editor for the Schuylkill Valley Journal.
Fray
In a scattered mindset
(which can go on for days)
I read poem after poem
unable to determine what I like
Still it’s easier to say “Forget this”
stop reading altogether
rather than confirm quality, goodness
turns out to require balance
Needful
College radio is copilot
as I drive the main drag
Two nights earlier, a shooting
so I'm glad to see cops
Saturday, dusk, tentative
folks look ready for a story
Seams
That I can't see in a mirror
What can be pointed out
The frayed shirt collar
The holes around seams
My comfort taken over
Concern for others
Fray
In a scattered mindset
(which can go on for days)
I read poem after poem
unable to determine what I like
Still it’s easier to say “Forget this”
stop reading altogether
rather than confirm quality, goodness
turns out to require balance
Needful
College radio is copilot
as I drive the main drag
Two nights earlier, a shooting
so I'm glad to see cops
Saturday, dusk, tentative
folks look ready for a story
Seams
That I can't see in a mirror
What can be pointed out
The frayed shirt collar
The holes around seams
My comfort taken over
Concern for others
~Mark Danowsky
