Poetry & Prose by Jo VonBargen

(From “Numbered Days”, J.J. King,
Redbird Books, Calcutta 1990)

The turn __

            of the screw, the worm,

            the tide, and once in a while,

            the stomach–inside out,

             and the earth, thank the stars,

            regularly, like roads,

            familiarly, and events,

            surprisingly,

            of friends–on us in anger,      

            to us in need,

            up at the worst times

            and to God, when nothing

            else is going for them,

            of ourselves, too–around

            at roadblocks, in at night,

            back–when the going

            gets rough,

            on to a good deal, and over

as in new leaves,

            and sometimes away–

            from the unbearable,

            from responsibility,

            or both–as in

            from a world crying

–Jo 1990