Interview with local author Stephen King

On Wednesday, my interview that I gave with local author Stephen King was posted on King's blog.  Take a read and see my thoughts on my book Nice Guys Finish Last and on writing in general.

http://theotherstephenkingonwriting.blogspot.com/2013/01/interview-with-vernon-wildy-jr.html

The City and The Suburbs

My friend from the city
asked me why I wasn’t
on a hot date tonight.
 
I tried to tell her
there’s no such thing
as a hot date around here,
 
not in the suburbs,
not where people play
their cards so close to
 
the vest they’re wearing
them as an accessory. This
is not like where she is,
 
she in a big sprawl of
ambitious souls who venture
out and about to have a
 
taste of whatever here and
there have to offer.  That
is unheard of in the suburbs.
 
People here would rather
find the fastest way
to be inside and nested
 
than stand in a flock of
unknown moving bodies.
My friend had never
 
pondered such concerns,
assuming the rest of the world
moved the way she did.
 
So she left me be to
return to her downtown
hustle and bustle while
 
I spent another all too
quiet night dwelling in
suburban purgatory.

Friday Night Shopping

Grocery shopping
down long aisles of
semi-stocked shelves
while in intermitted
moments bumping into
wayward souls just
like myself, everyone
looking hangdog tired
or distantly lonely, each
having their own reasons
to be wandering about
for food items.  This
isn’t the ideal time to be
here but I know for myself
this is way better than
being planted in front
of the television, watching
another bland crime show.
There was no one around
to ask me to join in any
jaunts into the city, so instead
I’m here.  At least this
gives me something to do,
my dinner and a movie
substitute.  Call me crazy
but sometimes in a life of
singlehood you have to do
uncommon things to
make yourself occupied.

Family Visit

Walking in
was like a trip down
memory lane, a faded
version of post-war living
where wives waited for
their men to come home
from work, a hot dinner
waiting on the kitchen table.
 
But now, that woman lives
alone, her husband having
passed years before.  She
moves slowly across the
living room to her bed
sitting by the window,
moved downstairs by her sons
who didn’t want her to
 
navigate those old wooden
stairs at the frail state
she was in.  They always
stop by to tend house, handle
any needed business matters,
and sometimes just to sit and
keep her company.  Family
coming by is the norm and
 
today it’s her niece and great
nephew.  She hadn’t seen the
young man since her sister –
his grandmother - passed away.
She marveled at just how
much he had grown.  She then
pointed to the far wall where
her collage of family pictures
 
were clustered.  Pictures of
her husband, sons, grandsons,
sisters, and all the other
family members seem to
surround the small picture of
the great nephew as a youngster,
a broad smile from many years
ago.  The visit itself wasn’t
 
a long one but it was good
for all.  Goodbyes were said and
the niece and great nephew
headed home.  It was a quiet ride
but driving away the niece kept
telling her son that that was her
last living aunt, wondering  
aloud how many more times
will she get to see her.  

Nature

In her dreams
she is devoid of flesh,
of bone, and of muscle.
She walks weightless in
the vast space of nature
as she becomes it and
it becomes her, two
entities seamlessly
joining into one, both
accepting each other
with joy, unencumbered
by boundaries.  Breezes
blow through her with
no resistance and now
she can breathe, breathe
and greedily inhale the
freshness all around her,
let it fill her body like elixir,
the perfect remedy against
the doldrums and humdrums
of city life, of big buildings
and small cubicles.  Now
is not the time for business suits
or deadlines, but instead
to lay down with Mother Earth.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  I hope you all have a wonderful and prosperous 2013!