Mike Dillon

Mike Dillon lives in Indianola, Washington, a small town on Puget Sound northwest of Seattle. Departures,  a book of poetry and prose about the forced removal of Bainbridge Island’s Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor will be published in April 2019 by Unsolicited Press.

 

Journey

An open door framed a sunlit field

and a blue pond where a saintly burrow

drowsed beside its saintly reflection.

 

A bantam boy with rheumy eyes

deposited coarse bread in a basket.

A shadowy, empty room, except for me.

 

From the kitchen: a clatter of plates,

a man and wife’s soft speech beyond

the wall of my own language.

 

And garlic scent.  Something frying.

The boy returned with a mug of beer

to match the golden afternoon.

 

A rooster crowed. An icon of Mary,

red, black and gold, cast its basilisk stare

from a cracked plaster wall.

 

A fly tapped the window beside the door.

The boy’s spread palm quickly mashed it.

He olive eyes darted my way for a approval.

.

Meal finished, I shook man and wife’s hands.

My compliments were true. I patted the boy

and went on my way out the door

 

with worn backpack and I patted the burrow

as if we both knew there was no such

thing as final destination.

 

© 2018 Mike Dillon