“the idiosyncrasies, stamps of my proprietorship”
Collected has yesterday’s newspaper
the wrinkles of irregular folds and use,
going to gray elephant’s hide while again, again
drops of salad dressing’s indelible oil
thrown by the errant tines of the fork
speckle that crinkling, inked skin
so now truly my own—
the idiosyncrasies, stamps of my proprietorship
yielding comfort of the stained
and slightly worn, the right to blanket the table
—sans souci—
next to the dangerous liquid vermilion of pickled beet,
no worry of marring the permanent
and perfect, so less desirable in this regard
where the ephemeral holds the privilege of place.
John Zedolik published his full-length collection, Salient Points and Sharp Angles, which was released with WordTech Editions in 2019. In 2021, he published his second collection, When the Spirit Moves Me, which was released with Wipf & Stock, and is spiritually themed. In 2023, he published his third collection, Mother Mourning (also with Wipf & Stock) and has recently published his fourth collection, The Ramifications (with Wipf & Stock), which consists of five long, experimental poems.
