THREE POEMS by JOHN DORSEY

The Dinner Belle Always Rings Twice

At the dinner belle
young girls in hoodies
fold paper napkins
and shine tarnished butter knives
while whole families
share a single hamburger
and talk about the weather in owensville
this is the only whistle-stop cafe in town
minus the whistle
and the train 
going nowhere fast. 



Appalachian Homage to Cid Corman

zen either comes
from the bones
of our fathers

or gets buried
with them



Gasconade River Song #10

here children are raised 
to pump gas
to burn their shadows 
in effigy

the river only 
teaches you
to sing them
to sleep.



About John Dorsey:
John Dorsey is the author of several collections of poetry, including Sodomy is a City in New Jersey (American Mettle Books, 2010), Tombstone Factory (Epic Rites Press, 2013) and most recently, Appalachian Frankenstein (GTK Press, 2015). His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He may be reached at archerevans@yahoo.com