Poet’s Showcase

In a Chinese Restaurant

By Michael L. Johnson

Pellucid in ill will,

my fortune gives me cause

for dudgeon since it mentions

that all of my intentions

will turn to halts and stumbles.

First I decide to kill

the messenger, then pause,

then smash it somewhat less

than totally – and guess

that’s how the cookie crumbles.

– Michael L. Johnson is an English professor at Kansas University.