My Parents

1.

the horizon is my father
back from the sea
his eyes
shallow blue

they are blue
because i see them, know they are blue
they are blue because
he tells me his eyes are what people
(read women/girls)
notice first

beach sky blue
vacation blue
dixie-land trumpet blue
not blue like the blues
blue with no shadow sadness

2.

my mother left one day
in her small, white car
to get groceries

never came back

her eyes
almost green
(red in the corners

when she squinted
they took the shape of wings

Mike James has been published in over a 100 magazines, ranging from the medium size (Negative Capability, Soundings East, Chiron Review) to the very small (Monkey’s Fist, Tight) and he has been thankful to the editors of all of them. His most recent book, Peddler’s Blues, was published in 2016 by Main Street Rag. A new book of prose poems, My Favorite Houseguest, will be published in the summer of 2017 by FutureCycle Press.