Erric Emerson is a poet residing in the westerlands of Philadelphia. He is a founding member of Duende literary journal. His work has appeared in Beautiful Losers, Crabfat, Five:2:one, Neon, Gingerbread House, The Black Napkin, Mead, and By&By, among other places.

My Go-To’s

Fair-weather friend
is the kitchen knife,
same as the boxcutter.
How rude it is to dice up chicken
or cardboard with the same edge
acquainted with a wrist.

Worse is the fountain pen,
same as the ballpoint,
the rollerball.
How they reveal a late-sprout poet
with the same ink used for
freehanded suicide plots.

Then there’s the drink,
always, just one.
How it tips its hat in regards,
stays its welcome or over,
tells me fingers aren’t for counting.

I’m a child running at end tables,
playing chicken with dusked riptide,
falling slow-mo into the embrace of friends
who’ve suddenly backed away.