September 14-20, 2015: David Chorlton and Roger Still

The Muses

My first muse is a dominatrix.
She’s stern
and not interested in fun.
Concentrate, she tells me while polishing
the studs on her belt,
and don’t waste my time.

The other muse
wears an old raincoat
and looks the type
who only wants to watch

but he’s trying hard
to understand her. My job

is to mediate between them and explain
the role of discipline
in what I do. When he asks
in his slow, colloquial manner
what something I’ve written down means

I refer him to her
but she cracks her whip and says
He thinks this is easy.
Show him it’s not.
Keep working
until you’ve got it simple.

Fifteen Minutes Early

My military father always
taught me to be on time
and early and earlier
and now I snap to attention

I snap because of his
barks and commands even
though they echo in earth
now and do not sound.

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