The #9           

by Annie Klier Newcomer

                                                                                               
Some memories breeze in and stay
like unexpected guests still in the kitchen
at 2 A.M. My new spouse disapproves,
demands I get rid of them,
then slips upstairs.

I usher the group to the front porch,
and say good-bye. As I fix a drink,
one returns, rocks back and forth
on the swing, snuggles up with the cat
who easily attaches to any lap.

I join them outside and now can’t
go back in, at least not
while I remain fixated
on the #9, which always was
my deceased husband’s favorite.


* * * * *

"The #9" was first published in Interpretations by Columbia Art League Ekphrastic Journal and is part of Annie Klier Newcomer's brand-new poetry collection Comets: Relationships that Wander (Finishing Line Press, February 25, 2022).

Annie Klier Newcomer teaches poetry classes at Turning Point, a Center for Hope & Healing in Kansas City, Kansas. She also helps coach chess for After-School Programs in mid-town KC. Annie writes as a way to connect and to add value to her life. Presently she is an editor for Flapper Press Poetry Café and a member of the Key West Cigar Factory Poetry Group.