by Clare M Bercot Zwerling
Some scurry there directly
I’m more an edge skirter
mincing little footsteps
too cautious to publicly dip in that big toe
watchful watchful
near those slippery slopes
C’mon they urge
c’mon
their honey coated beckonings
send ripples
through the soul
Yet its easy then
to be holier than you
fun to say
sorry not me
fun to hold my head
up high and play at
better than
But inside the life
long battle lives on
oh just for now
to slip a little
a smidge
To look them eye to eye
those lovely
allurements
and slip
just a little
Taradiddle or true
so cute those small half-lies
half-truths along the way
of every honest effort
to avoid the garden path
The climb back is oh
so dreary and
grows harder each
little slip
and quicker to smite
the transgressor
G-d is chuckling at me-
Clare M Bercot Zwerling is a newish poet with five poems published to date in glassworks, Halcyon Days, Night Waves Anthology 2019, Red Sky Anthology 2020 and Coffin Bell Journal. Her forthcoming poetry publications include The Oakland Review, Horror Before it Was Cool, Poetry South and Gyroscope Review. A recent retiree and transplant from Deep South Texas, she resides in Northern California and is a member of the Writers of the Mendocino Coast.