“Five (Occupational) Love Poems” by Gary Hawkins

A new poem by alumnus Gary Hawkins (poetry, ’95) appears online in The Collagist:

Five (Occupational) Love Poems

I.

I was a short order cook just beginning to dismantle
my mise en place at the end of my shift
when the bell on the front doors jingled
and a quick, cold wind blew in the pass-through window.

And you were a famished traveller
stamping off your boots
under the fluorescent lights
wanting a plain burger and fries, and the check.

 

II.

I was a tangle of wires in the attic
twisted together with fingers and black tape,
running to an old fuse box.

And you were the licensed electrician
bending graceful curves of conduit around the rafters,
tucking a corsage of wire nuts behind a faceplate.

…

Continue reading online.