Ode to the Discarded

September 29, 2019

by Brian Rihlmann

While sitting on the curb,

I see a rusty old bolt

laying on the pavement.

I pick it up,

turn it and feel its heft,

its cold edges,

My fingers

now stained orange.

I run fingertips

over threads

still sharp,

not stripped.

It once held

something together,

and still could.

Brian Rihlmann

Brian Rihlmann was born in New Jersey and currently resides in Reno, Nevada. He writes free verse poetry, much of it on the confessional side. He has been published in Blognostics, Red Eft Review, Spillwords, Synchronized Chaos, Cajun Mutt Press, The Rye Whiskey Review, and others.