He keeps looking out the window
But checking for what?
Something’s not right about that gardener.
It’s too still out here.
The island, the slow rolling water,
almost all black cards
when he deals out solitaire.
Douglas Cole has published six collections of poetry and a novella. His work has appeared in several anthologies as well as The Chicago Quarterly Review, The Galway Review, Bitter Oleander, Louisiana Literature and Slipstream. He has been nominated for both the Pushcart and Best of the Net and received the Leslie Hunt Memorial Prize in Poetry. He lives and teaches in Seattle.