David Stephenson
One and Done
When I gaze into the past, I see
a lot of scenes I would play differently
if I had a second chance,
but I play them all cold in one shot,
following or thickening the plot,
unmindful of the aftermath.
My life would be much better with retakes
and strategic deletions of mistakes,
a much-condensed director's cut,
but I'm stuck instead with the raw feed,
the dog's breakfast of muddle and misdeed
daily pouring or petering out,
forming as it goes a formless tale,
poorly paced and full of drab detail,
the timing of the end the only doubt.
Bio
David Stephenson lives in Detroit, MI. His poems have most recently appeared in Tar River Poetry, The Lyric, and The Orchards Poetry Journal. His second collection, Wall of Sound, was published by Kelsay Books in 2022. He is also the editor of Pulsebeat Poetry Journal.