Two Poems By J. M. Allen

Rummage Sale

Another Saturday morning
I display all of my stuff
Hopefully get rid of it
But I know that’s tough

I set out my anger
Please take it away
As I notice it follows me
Most all of the day

My impatience too
It’s just so hard to wait
If I could only delay pleasure
That sure would be great

Especially my indifference
It makes life more bleak
Otherwise you’ll see me again
With the same junk next week

Shipwreck

To be the captain of a sailboat
Is all that I ever wanted to be
And St. Elmo’s fire in this storm
Will be the last thing I’ll ever see

J. M. Allen is a long-time resident of Rochester, Minnesota. His rhyming poems have appeared in many publications, and his chapbook Real Rhyming Poems was recently published by Kelsay Books.