JOSEPH K. WELLS - POEMS

Joseph K. Wells is a businessman, doctor of occupational therapy, part-time professor and few wannabes from time to time. With his poetry forgotten over two decades, he rekindled the old flame a few months ago. He blames this on his midlife. Since the beginning of this year, his poems have found a home in the Red Fez, Napalm & Novocain, Dead Snakes, Every Day Poems and Section 8 Magazine, and are forthcoming in several more.

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                                             Chase
 
​
I chased
behind my tail
fast and furious,
round and round;
smoke spiraled,
sparks flew,
the world
cut below
by my
laser feet.
 
Succeed, I did.
Yes, indeed!
 
With my
tail in my hands,
and lips shining,
my face lifted
and then dropped
as I fell
into darkness,
the hole
I had
dug beneath…
 
 
  
 
                                      Net Worth
 

One summer afternoon,
comfort filled the room.
I completed my
“net worth” form and
through the open window
let out a warm smile.
 
Suddenly a hissing
gust forced in,
tossed pages
of an open book,
shook hung wall
certificates,
slurped up my
net worth form
off my desk
and rushed out,
serpentine.
 
Feet shocked,
my sight leaped
out the window
behind the sheet,
clinging to its tail,
as I stood
bit in awe,
a lot teased,
watching it
soar higher
sticking out
its tongue
back at me.
But soon it
began to descend
earthward,
abruptly.
Contrasting
the majestic
flight it had
just borne,
it landed
disgracefully,
torn.
 
I walked down
to where it now laid
in a small puddle.
Wet, tattered, soiled.
Smudged, bleeding
ink all over
its soggy body.
 
And, then it dawned.
My net worth on
a helpless sheet
of paper!
And, a warm smile
entered me again…
 
 
 
 
                                       I Always Was
 
I was never
the fool
I was taken for,
that ugly
I was made to look,
that weak
but beaten repeatedly,
that strong
but withstood,
that alive
to live life,
that dead
to not live.
I was
betrayed
by the destiny
of gods and stars.
I am
just the
hopeless romantic
I always was.