The old man, asleep perhaps
on a tired bench,
slumps forward
and a torn bit of paper
slips from his fingers and falls
to the ground,
dancing for a moment
in a cool breeze,
as an edgy piano plays

12-bar blues

from a club, a block
or two down a well-worn street,
under outstretched arms
in the dark
as the ragged edges of the city
curl and fold into itself.

# # #

Terry Allen is an Emeritus Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he taught acting, directing and playwriting. He directed well over a hundred plays during his thirty-eight years of teaching. A few favorites include: Candide, Macbeth, Death of a Salesman, and The Threepenny Opera. He now plays pickle ball and writes poetry and has been published in I-70 Review, Freshwater Poetry Journal, Skylark Review, Chariton Review, Third Wednesday, Star 82 Review, Dime Show Review, Common Ground Review, Modern Poetry Quarterly Review, Main Street Rag and others.

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