BRIAN RIHLMANN

THE LIE OF “FINE”

not sure when I became

such a social media drama queen 

but I did it

I posted it—

a melodramatic rant

in the woeful voice of one

feeling as stood up by life

as a homely girl 

at a high school dance

a friend saw it

and texted “ARE YOU OK!!”

so I answered 

“yes....I’m fine...don’t worry”

“Fine” is such a lie

but Christ—

we’d never make it

if we didn’t lie to ourselves

and everyone else

sometimes 

WAREHOUSEMEN

Thanksgiving’s over—

we have feasted and rested

now the holiday season begins

all across America on Monday

we’ll stutter-step across icy pavement 

huddle under grey skies near warehouses

ball-breaking over football scores

chit-chatting against the silent dread

of the long day ahead 

we’ll wait for the bosses to arrive

to unlock the doors 

to throw them open like corral gates

and loose the herd on all those empty boxes

a parade of hollowed out trailers

we’re part of nature, so I’m told

and nature abhors a vacuum

emptiness seems a sad thing

holes and hollows must be filled

even filled with what’s useless

and destined for the frozen dirt

of landfills in January

but for now, lovingly cradled 

by styrofoam packing peanuts 

like millions of sterile seeds gathered

from a dying tree, soon to scatter again 

to fall with snowflakes

to freeze in giant mounds

in mall parking lots 

indistinguishable til spring

*********************Brian Rihlmann, 2019

Brian Rihlmann was born in New Jersey and currently resides in Reno, Nevada. He writes free verse poetry, and has been published in The Blue Nib, The American Journal of Poetry, Cajun Mutt Press, The Rye Whiskey Review, and others. His first poetry collection, “Ordinary Trauma,” (2019) was published by Alien Buddha Press.