The Literary Review
FILLED WITH FRIGHT
The plight of the poor
is not easy to bare.
I wonder if anyone cares!
While trying to sleep,
we kept hearing a rat
gnawing under the floor.
I banged my shoe several times,
but it did no good.
It was the middle of the night,
and we were filled with fright!
- George Snedeker
NATURE
You and I
went for a walk in the woods.
We saw a bear.
You almost shit your pants from fear
when he came near.
Nature is nice to view
from a distance.
Don’t get too close,
and keep on your running shoes.
It’s wrong to kill,
if it’s not for food,
or self-protection,
like in a bull fight,
where they kill for spite.
- George Snedeker
COMPLAINT
My mother was on the porch
yelling at the garbage men.
Last week their truck ran over one of our garbage cans .
She was telling them
they would have to replace it.
One of the garbage men
pointed to the phone number on the side of the truck .
He told her to call and make a complaint.
She called the number several times,
But it did no good.
- George Snedeker
URBAN REMOVAL
Melvin was my best friend in high school.
We were both a bit odd.
We sat on the ledge
outside of the student cafeteria.
We made fun of the other students,
who couldn’t care less
what we thought of them.
I had not spoken to Melvin
for forty years.
One day,
I looked his number up
on the internet.
While at dinner,
he told me
the projects where he grew up
were recently imploded.
- George Snedeker
TOMBSTONE BLUES
I imagine my tombstone will read:
Born 1946
Died 2026
of natural causes.
It was suffering from the start.
He dedicated his life
to science and art.
- George Snedeker
POWER
The men who rule the world
sit behind desks,
charting the course of history,
under flags,
dripping blood
- George Snedeker