c o n v e r g e n c e:
an online journal of poetry & art


EDITOR'S CHOICE: cynthia linville's


Robert Lee Haycock


Atop the China Closet by Robert Lee Haycock

Atop the China Closet by Robert Lee Haycock



CELEBRATION

By Robert Lee Haycock

The floor is confetti'd with your infidelities.
Many storied buildings float away
Or fall.
I am told my father is a good man.
My glasses are broken.
My shoes have gone on without me.
Now the river is everywhere.
All the walls above the chair rail
Must be painted the color of a lost horizon.
A signal honor.
The last straw.




My Chops by Robert Lee Haycock

My Chops by Robert Lee Haycock



SIDEWALK SACRAMENT

By Robert Lee Haycock

Head bent
He stared intently at his ice cream cone
As if it might speak
As if he had just licked the face of Jesus




Dabbling by Robert Lee Haycock

Dabbling by Robert Lee Haycock



UPS AND DOWNS

By Robert Lee Haycock

Even the rain knows
Falling is the simplest thing
But I fear to climb




Get Out by Robert Lee Haycock

Get Out by Robert Lee Haycock



SQUAWK

By Robert Lee Haycock

That solitary sunflower volunteered
To be breakfast for the scrub jay
Who hates the mockingbird
For his too extensive repertoire
And the mourning doves
"Get over yourselves!" he squawks
He is as bright and as blue
As morning ever was




Silk Purse by Robert Lee Haycock

Silk Purse by Robert Lee Haycock



WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION

By Robert Lee Haycock

I wanted to buy you kites and cowboy boots but you wanted to finish the race. What could I do but pedal along after you uphill and down? The finish line kept moving but the judges finally relented and awarded us flutes and sherbets until the "No Smoking" light was turned off.

The pews were full of dead people. Oxen flew between the stained glass windows. We made our way cautiously into the catacombs where we shared a beer and bowled a few lines while we were down there. Try as I might I could never break 200.

I knew you were worried when I disappeared at the amusement park. They accused me of stealing colors from the carousel and roughed me up. Then they offered me a job painting cheap souvenirs. After a couple of weeks I was able to retire early.

Gravel roads played tic-tac-toe in the desert and joshua trees pointed the way. We came across a huge pit and looked down into a 5-star restaurant but without a reservation there was no way to get down there. So we sat in the car and ate twizzlers.

We drove around in the postcard as long as we could stand it. When we finally broke the proscenium we were going so fast I lost control on a curve and put the convertible into the lake. I still feel bad that my brother drowned.




— This piece was previously published in Pushing Out The Boat Issue 13 2015







Robert Lee Haycock

Robert Lee Haycock


Robert Lee Haycock grew up in California's Santa Clara Valley, "The Valley of Heart's Delight," and now resides in Antioch, California, "The Gateway to the Delta." Robert has been an art handler at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum and the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco since 1988.








More Photography by
Robert Lee Haycock



Buckeye by Robert Lee Haycock

Buckeye







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