AFTERCARE

Last night we talked 
again about death 

the suicide, swollen 
gut that swallowed
the man, woman
with one lung.

At some point
we turned all 
the framed inspiration
hanging from nails
to face the wall
like monks

footprints in the sand

elephant in the room

the serenity of one 
pink rose, co-
dependent with 
one drop of water.

Then, we lost interest
in the bowl of candy

box of Kleenex

pile of pamphlets

the white space
of too much silence

and finally, even 
the thinly disguised
announcement blaring
in the hall
that the cafeteria
would be closing
in thirty minutes.


About Robert Tremmel:
Robert Tremmel teaches in the English Department at Iowa State University, where he coordinates the English education program. Some of the journals he’s published in are The Iowa Review, Main Street Rag, Cincinnati Review, Rattle, The Southern Review, Iodine Poetry Journal, Karamu, Red Rock Review, Rockhurst Review, and South Dakota Review. His latest collection is Crossing Crocker Township, and in 2010 he published a chapbook of poems titled There is a Naked Man with Main Street Rag.