Three Poems by Cristine A. Gruber

Mystery

 

 

I had

that dream

again, the one

with the broken

mirror and the seven

bottles of beer. I figure

the damaged glass suggests

I struggle to see myself for

who I really am, but the

quantity of beer remains

a bit of a mystery,

for I’ve never

been able

to drink

more

than

two.

 

  

 

Woodbridge

 

Lost in the anomalous,

mislaid in creativity’s hold, 

dancing with the Woodbridge,

the surest way to grasp the characters

that make the pulp so very vibrant. 

 

Crimson, viridian, cobalt, magenta…  

not shades of the rainbow,

but colors of the storm.  

The gale of life meets

the tempest of creation 

in deeper, varied signals

of the squall. Deepest

moments of color,

just before the lids

turn pitch black,

only pulsating

dots remaining

for escape. 

 

Forever

knowing the veracity

of the Woodbridge, yet

drawn to it none-the-less. Forever

inspiring, but for the shortage of time…

 

time to say good night

to perennial Woodbridge;

time to seek provisional peace

among the wedgewood blue

and the eggshell white.

 

                 *Woodbridge is a wine label 

 

 

Ravenous   

 

 

Two cups water,

half cup generic ketchup,

spoonful of expired sour cream,

small container of rancid guacamole,

two packets of hot sauce, the hotter the better,

and a dash of congealed onion powder,

found in the back of the cabinet,

hidden for more than three years.  

 

Mix well and simmer for twenty minutes,

the established time it takes

for hunger pangs to subside.

 

Pour in large mug and drink quickly,

the quicker the better,

so as not to think too hard

about the rancid guacamole.

 

Wash down with two large cups

of very strong coffee,

brewed from a three-day filter.

 

 

 

Cristine A. Gruber has had work featured in numerous journals, including: North American Review, Writer’s Digest, California Quarterly, Dead Snakes, Endicott Review, The Homestead Review, Iodine Poetry Journal, Miller’s Pond, Napalm and Novocain, The Penwood Review, Pound of Flash, Pyrokinection, Red River Review,  The Tule Review, Wilderness House Literary Review, and The Write Place at the Write Time. In 2014, her short stories, "Imprisoned," and "Stash," both received Honorable Mentions in the Writers Weekly 24-Hour Short Story Competition. Cristine's first full-length collection of poetry, Lifeline, is available from Amazon.com. More of Cristine’s work can be found and enjoyed at http://sierraviewjournal.blogspot.com/