Empty head

Pity the empty head,
not one idea bouncing
around inside.

All still and dark
like a cloudy night,

no bats or owls
hovering on wind
that’s not there.

No sweet dreams
to remember

when the sun smiles
on the horizon
and whispers,
Wake up.

After a career in print journalism, Eric Chiles teaches writing and journalism at a number of colleges in eastern Pennsylvania. His poetry appears in Allegro, Chiron Review, Gravel, Plainsongs, Rattle, San Pedro River Review, Tar River Poetry, The American Journal of Poetry, Third Wednesday, and elsewhere. His chapbook, Caught in between, is forthcoming from Desert Willow Press.