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February. 2009:
Jerry Judge | 9 Poems |
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| 1. Rhythm |
| 2. Writing at the Waffle House |
| 3. 27 Million Shoes |
| 4. The Hiding Game |
| 5. Translation |
| 6. Absent Without Leave |
| 7. December 7, 1996 |
| 8. My Only Groupie Attacked by Vicious Garage Door |
| 9. The Last Poem |
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Jerry Judge is the author of six collections of poetry. His latest works are Luna Moth (2008 – Finishing Line Press) and Outlaw Poet (Pudding House – 2008). His poems have been published in several anthologies and a variety of journals including New York Quarterly, Pudding, Main Street Rag, Nerve Cowboy, Poetry Depth Quarterly, American Tanka, Chiron Review and Writer’s Journal. He is a former President of the Greater Cincinnati Writers’ League, and he’s active in writing events around the region. He works for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati and lives in Cincinnati with a gorgeous wife, three royal cats and one rambunctious dog. He has two grown sons – Nick, a firefighter/medic, and Devin, a student at Ohio State University.
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Download Jerry Judge Broadside Poster "Rhythm" |
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| jerry judge, cincinnati, ohio, poet, luna moth, new poems, |
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Absent Without Leave
for Tony Abbott
Anthony or Tony, a good name,
a solid rib hugging one, maybe
belonging to a butcher or a mobster
surrounded by his loving family.
This Tony writes fine lyric poetry.
Names are sneaky. At the bugle’s blare,
I think whatshisname arises with me,
but whoseit is missing at the roll call
with big gaps in his service record.
Maureen, whose own name saluted smartly,
asked whose workshop I took at Wildacres.
Gears locked, cells burst, and I stared
at her so blankly she asked about my health.
Where did the workshop leader’s name go?
Names mock me. She appears stark naked
daring me to remember. I stutter, try to buy time,
but she dresses faster than my mind
comprehends the slamming of the door.
Thirty minutes after Maureen asks, I recall
Tony’s name. I scream it out from the void.
My mother said time can take everything from you
but your memory – until that goes.
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