Jake Onyett

50 Dollar Dad

Putting out to pasture is too easy
It’s just a walk, misty-eyed in the morning mist
With your hand coaxing on the collar of the old
Thing, the glue factory floor, the exact opposite
Of yeast, the sun bickering with the frost on the
Leaves makes it feel so familiar, you saw in your
Inbox that it had been seen, your gift card for
50 dollars, is this a grander gesture, I hope
Not and he hopes not too, how is the decision
Made, the worth of anything is filtered like
Briny water through the brackets of pumice
If anything is a reflection of another thing
Or if it is pure independence, segmented in shelves
In a huge cabinet of sand at different moistures
I want to stand apart with my hand on her head
Mussing her hair but with an extended arm
Out of scope, out of focus, deciding
The worth of a boundary between a
Moment and a need

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Jake Onyett is a U.S. Navy veteran who was born in Canada, raised in the United States, and currently lives in Italy. He is a graduate of Niagara University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Bologna. His poetry appears/will appear in Litbreak Magazine, Mediterranean Poetry, and Pure Slush.

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