Saturday, June 18, 2022

Lives of Poetry & Regret by Karen A VandenBos

The smell of smoke mixes with the
sticky residue of food and piss on
the floors and the scent of the
downtrodden is braided with heartache
to make a cocktail not listed on
the menu.

Vacant eyes search the room, unfocused,
looking for ghosts as they linger here
like the smoke from an extinguished
match.

Their lips are bold with thirst,
their hearts aching with the need
to be loved.

Empty promises are written on
the edges of the left behind wet napkins
underneath empty glasses of sorrow.

This is their place of worship, the
place where they tithe. The place
where they come to take communion
and lead their lives of poetry and
regret.



Once upon a time, Karen A VandenBos was born on a warm July morn in Kalamazoo, MI. Her youth was nourished by books and writing. When adulthood opened the door, she was detoured to working in health care for 30+ years and obtained her PhD in Holistic Health. She tumbled into the realm of retirement landing on her feet and was reunited with her creative spark. She can now be found contributing to two online writing groups where she unleashes her imagination and trusts her pen to take her where she needs to go. Her writing has been published in The Ekphrastic Review, Lothlorien Poetry Journal and Verse-Virtual online and some of her photographs have been published in Blue Heron Review.

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