An Internal Memo

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon.


Let's indulge ourselves
In the pointlessness of positive thinking
For a change
Instead of the unsurprising
Expected impending doom
Which has not disappointed
In its daily rounds
Shall we get all Shirley MacLaine
And take a trip to the 
Past lives pavilion
Just to draw strength from
Previous failures
Or go full postal Dale Carnegie
Who believed in his philosophical larceny
So much
He changed the spelling of his last name
Thinking that people would associate him
With the rich family who built libraries
And they did
Or maybe what would work better
Is just realizing
We're doing the best we can
And we should understand that
The ability to continue through
The King Lear storm
Is something to be acknowledged
And appreciated
It probably won't subtract any sorrow
But it might
And that delusion
Is something you can dine out on
If not for a meal
Than at least an amuse bouche
Which is marginally better than nothing


Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

In The Dark On The Outside

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon.


Up early
First thing
Before the sun has a chance
To rise
I hit the pavement
With the shoes I'm ready to retire
Taking in the views
Of the houses around me
At a decent pace
Since the gym is closed
On Christmas Day
Mostly by myself
Except for one misguided soul
On Huron Street
Somewhat at peace
Strong from determined accomplishment
Ready to turn the table
On my recent past
Willing to happen to the world
For a change
Feeling better about myself
Than I did the day before
Which is just about
The best present
I could hope for
While the rest of the planet
Unwraps boxes
And throws away
The pretty paper


Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

Stretching the canvas for more space

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon.


Hey, the new issue of 
Southern Living is in
There's a sentence I never thought I'd say
Mostly because I have never heard
Of the magazine before
But since I am in current phase
Of reading what I ordinarily wouldn't
And realizing that The Sunday New York Times
Was too much of a time hoover
To leave room for anything else
I picked up this magazine from the periodical shelf
And dove in
It did have Octavia Spencer on the cover
Which was a good sign
But I don't know whether it was by accident
Or editorial design
That the first photo inside
Was one of a pie
Apple, I'm assuming
Without any other ingredients included
I zipped through the articles about
Throw pillows and Japanese maples
All pleasing enough in their scope
Only a clutched paw of more bits of string
To add to my ever-growing sphere
Which may or may not serve any purpose
In the W.H. Auden sense
Or inspire something of limited or lesser value
On my own

Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

Blanks Filled While You Wait

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon. 

The old man was bemoaning
The daily passage of time
Probably because he just lost
Another of his friends yesterday
I know how that goes
Having been blindsided relentlessly
When I was much younger
I wanted to say
Yeah, but look at us
It's 7:30 in the morning
And we're both at the gym
That's got to count for something
Even if it is the pointless raging against
The oncoming darkness of all our lives
But I didn't say that
I just vexed my shoulders and said
What are you gonna do?
Given that we were in New Jersey
It seemed the only appropriate response
An all-purpose reaction
That is surprisingly effective
In a variety of occasions
When nothing of value said
Is going to make
Any difference

Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil