Retired

by John Di Leonardo

shaving with an old mirror
and a drop of red, I trim
the hairs from ears, nose

think of Bud, my neighbour 
of twenty-two years

he passed away last night.

I'll miss our morning chats
about garbage pick up
young racoons

the buzz of coming Spring

Bio

John Di Leonardo's first chapbook Book of Hours was published in 2014. His poems have won numerous awards in various poetry anthologies. He is a Director with The Station Art Gallery in Whitby, President of the Brooklin Poetry Society, and Editor of Verse Afire, The Ontario Poetry Society Publication. John is currently working on a manuscript of Ekphrastic poems. He writes and paints in Brooklin, Ontario. You can visit John at: www.johndileonardo.ca