Connie Wanek's On Speaking Terms

"Take my word for it—this new book by Connie Wanek is outstanding. And some of the poems will stick with you for the rest of your life." —Ted Kooser

Check it out here.

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Steve Orlen

The Beach At Nice

Up on the boardwalk, fully dressed, the poor are staring, who
          can’t afford the beach,
And think this is the orchard of breasts their mothers’
          bodies offered,
The melons an plums, the pears and others.
They smoke and chat and run their glances down
The long and rocky line of shore and back.
They laugh, compare, these connoisseurs, their conversation
          serious.
With hands cupped open, they approximate. Lacking the
          means, they yearn.
Lacking a camera, they take a snapshot with the eye
Then on thin bikes rush home, eating their hearts out with
          pleasure.