Bruce Morton - Issue 37

Bruce Morton divides his time between Montana and Arizona. He is the author of Planet Mort (FootHills Publishing, 2024) and the chapbook Olive-drab Khaki Blues (FootHills, 2026). His poems have appeared in numerous online and print venues. He was formerly dean at the Montana State University library.

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Morning Coffee

I wake 

In anticipation 

Of the daily grind,

Know something

Is brewing. I can

Smell it, hear it.

The aroma is

Divine, the taste,

With a little cream

To cut bitterness,

Elevates the heart 

Rate with its soul-

Penetrating warmth.

Hold tight the cup.

Neuropathy 

It inevitably gets on my nerves.

Sometimes it is a just tingle,

Just a single moment when

A synapse excites itself in

An extremity, hand or foot--brain.

I cannot help but feel that

Something is going on, is afoot.

It is hard to put my finger on

Just what it is, although I am

Acutely aware that there is

Pain and suffering in this world.

But, I take umbrage that I must 

Partake, for Chrissake. Shit happens,

Then people say things that are dumb

And my tingle turns to numb.