Three Poems by Tom Squitieri

The Rutabaga Would Not Cut 
Two pieces said no
They would not go
In the dish
Without the onion
Or their secret spice
The taste remained
While we wondered
What they would bring
Their secret smiling in silence


She Won’t Say Yes
She waits, knowing
There is one person only
Despite what all the others think
And, slowly, she will share
She never thought like that before
Never of someone like him
He can’t be the one
Until one moment
She decides,
He is to be there
Now there has arrived
Do not change your mind
Take me fully


Red Nose Mystery

The river knows 
the mood 
your truths 
even if we hesitate 
on shore
lure me in,
and I shall smile,
waves of my joy
wait eagerly for
you to splash 
in them.
if we are lucky,
we learn how to let 
go of most
grasp what is for us
A little light 
Found me
This shadow morning
shoulder smolder 
footloose and fancy-free once
Now without footing
Morning quiet 
Loud in good energy
I stand in the shadows
waiting 
for you to call 
me to you