Tony Gloeggler: Minimum Wages
He’d talk about the summer
he worked behind a counter,
slicing meat, creating fully
loaded heroes like works of art.
Tony Gloeggler: This Kind of Room
I don’t
want to be back in love with Erica, driving
to some quaint upstate town, windows
down, in complete control of the tape deck
and we’re both singing along as loud
and as off key as we please
Tony Gloeggler: A Good Bad Day
John walks slowly up the stairs
to my office every day. Between
four and four-thirty, after the bus
brings him home from day program
Tony Gloeggler: Larry
Yes, he had already stopped
pirouetting like a clumsy teddy bear every ten steps
or so, stopped reaching down to pull up his socks.
In fact, he hasn’t worn socks in fifteen years.
Tony Gloeggler: October
He’s an ex girlfriend’s son
and I’ve known Jesse
since he was five. I decide
not to tell this woman he’s autistic
thinking she can figure it out
if she listens.
Tony Gloeggler: Fade Away
In 1964, my father and uncle
loaded the U HAUL and we left
Bed Stuy with all the other white
people and moved to Long Island.
Tony Gloeggler: Thirteen
I want to book an early
morning flight, drive over
the hills, ride to the rescue
like John Wayne’s cavalry.
Tony Gloeggler: Down by an Old Mill Where a Big Part of Your Heart Lives
…you and Jesse
have a gift. You can both stop time.
He’s autistic and you love the kid,
who’s now a man.
Tony Gloeggler: Anyway
After we dropped dirt
on my father’s coffin
the long line of cars
drove back to the house.
Tony Gloeggler: Blessings
The moral of these stories is that all blessings are mixed —From John Updike’s TOO FAR TO GO These days we make appointments to play slow motion basketball in Long … Continue reading
Tony Gloeggler: Honestly
I’ll place a bowl of Cheez-Its
in her lap, drop a Milk Dud
or Jordan Almond, spoon melon
into her mouth.
Tony Gloeggler: Some of the Things
Bean once told me, he never
hit a woman, as if it was a big
accomplishment.
Tony Gloeggler: Knowledge
He’s unaware he’s built
like a bowling pin,
that his shaved head shines
like Mr. Clean and everybody
stares when he waddles
Tony Gloeggler: New House
I try
not to think of all the time I spent
going over what went wrong
between us, how badly I missed
who I wanted her to be
