Earache
I
Seems the past year’s griefs
have settled in one ear: intermittent
needles—and in between, a hiss
like water when a small leak’s
developed in some basement pipe.
II
Wherever it’s bleeding out, water
seeks depth, yields to gravity,
muttering incessantly
as it wanders and descends. Soon
the whole house could be made of thirst.
Joseph Hutchison, Poet Laureate of Colorado (2014-2018), is the award-winning author of fifteen poetry collections, including The World As Is: New & Selected Poems, 1972-2015, Marked Men, and The Satire Lounge. At University College-University of Denver, he directs two online graduate programs: Professional Creative Writing and Arts & Culture. He lives with his wife, Iyengar yoga instructor Melody Madonna.
