A toasted English muffin with egg salad
with the crunch of organic celery.
Radio— songs from the sixties, ballads
with lyrics I learned better than any
memorized theorem for Regents exams
in high school. I sing along between bites.
Lunch is a rack of ribs from a lamb,
artichoke stuffed with seasoned breadcrumbs tight
between the prickly leaves. Two homemade soups
simmer on this chilly day, both bean and lentil,
make this house a home. Near the door, rain boots.
Nowhere to go, I’m experimental,
no longer need to be chief worrier,
taking tours of my dark interior.
Joan Mazza has worked as a medical microbiologist, psychotherapist, and taught workshops on understanding dreams and nightmares. She is the author of six self-help psychology books, including Dreaming Your Real Self. Her poetry has appeared in Atlanta Review, The Comstock Review, Prairie Schooner, Slant, Poet Lore, and The Nation. She lives in rural central Virginia.