Palmer Method by Wayne F. Burke

we studied penmanship in school,

wrote long lines of "C's"

like waves coming to shore,

and "e's" like little heads;

Miss Good, 3rd grade teacher

blind as a bat

and batty

beat our knuckles with a ruler

and loved us up afterward

with smothering lilac-scented flesh;

she lived alone in a brick house

wore a red dress

or else green

on day she broke a yardstick

over Jimmy Bush's shoulders

and the broken half clattered to the floor

and we all laughed

and laughed.


About Wayne F Burke:

Wayne F. Burke has published four volumes of poetry with Bareback Press and two chapbooks with Epic Rites Press. He lives in the central Vermont area, USA.