Halfway Back to Nature by John Grey

This is the perfect place for us.
The mountains aren’t too tall
nor the lake too deep.
And the river runs
but not so swiftly.
And there’s bears in the forest
but we don’t see them.
We have neighbors,
not too many,
not too few.
And it’s a five-mile drive into town.
And you’re pretty
but not beautiful.
And smart enough
though no genius.
And I can bang in a nail
when the need arises
though build a cottage…
forget it.
We can live off the land
though not exclusively.
Fact is, we’d starve
were it not for the Centerville A & P.
How often do we have sex?
Let me see.
Add twenty. Divide by three.
Then subtract the number
you first thought of
as long as it’s Saturday night.
Wolf howl, occasional traffic on route 7,
fresh air, scented candles in the parlor…
I always say,
there’s nothing like wilderness.

This place included, thank God.

John Grey is an Australian born poet and has been a US resident since the late seventies. He works as a financial systems analyst. His work has been recently published in Slant, Briar Cliff Review and Albatross, with work upcoming in Poetry East, Cape Rock and REAL.

Other things you might want to read:

Two poems by Mignon Ariel King Two poems from TESTIFY by Simone John The New Defenestration by John Fenlon Hogan Excerpt from “Pink” by John Bonanni