The News

———-i.m. Erik H.

I woke up this morning and got the email with the news.
I had a cup of coffee, read a poem by Paul Celan, and ate corn flakes.
My wife and I got the kids off to school.
She took a shower and went to work.
I went to my dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned.
I went to my haircut appointment.
I did an errand at the bank and bought a few things for lunch.
I went home and had a shave and a shower.
I prepared a poem for teaching next term.
I made my younger daughter’s favorite chicken-mustard sauce for lunch.
She came home and we ate spaghetti with the sauce.
I had a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate.
I watched “The Daily Show” with Daniel Radcliffe as the guest.
I wrote a shopping list and drove to the supermarket.
I stopped on the way at the car wash.
It was like going to the underworld and coming out to sunlight again.
 

Andrew Shields lives in Basel, Switzerland. His collection of poems Thomas Hardy Listens to Louis Armstrong was published by Eyewear in 2015. His band Human Shields released the album Somebody’s Hometown in 2015 and the EP Défense de jouer in 2016.