Thank you very much to Steve Cawte at Impspired for publishing my three poems in Issue 6.  Here is one of them:


https://impspired.com/2020/08/01/linda-imbler-3/

The Roller Coaster of Being Human

The taste of eggs and oranges,
cinnamon scented tea,
eating crow,
bitter tears, and soap.
 
The smell of campfires,
melting snow, and the ocean,
the scent after a light rain on a warm day,
crowded buses,
alcohol on angry breath,
and sulfur fumes.
 
The sound of favorite radio songs,
friendly dogs, and baseball games,
harsh words spoken between two people,
cracking ice under one’s feet while standing on a pond,
a room being locked from the other side,
a small lie which keeps growing with each repeat.
 
The sight of a lit front porch,
shadows in front of you on pavement,
the first tooth gap of your child,
the one whom you love,
a huge spider web seen within the gloom,
a strange car in your driveway.
 
The feel of cool grass under bare feet,
a happy horoscope, and the tickle of your lover’s hair,
when nothing seems true,
betrayal,
seeing a party invitation for your friends, but not you,
a lost ring or plane ticket.
 
Ups and downs, round and round
shedding tears to appreciate smiles,
our puppet strings pulled this way and that.
It takes both sides to balance the marionette,
and make us into real boys.