The Eccentric
Looked like the Unabomber
with kinder eyes and better intentions
lived in a run down fifties shack south of Kalamazoo
with a caved in ceiling and orange shag carpet
no place to sit down
chairs upholstered with chaos of clutter
tried to drive his two undrivable cars
last time forgot to get gas
three cell phones ringing but no computer
controls time and space checking his Dick Tracey watch
read One Two Three Infinity at nine years of age
rode a bicycle from the Ukraine to Paris
got a PhD in biophysics from Cal Tech
was the class genius fallen on hard times
lost his words to aphasia
lost his wife to Covid
lost his goddamned mind
and did some time in the state asylum
sometimes thinks people are out to get him
worked in a laboratory sequencing DNA
cloned multiple strands of human genome
at the end of a long journey
sang the opening passage of The Odyssey in ancient Greek
his pitched vibrato rising, falling
autobiographical
Marilee Pritchard is a retired RN who lives in the Chicago suburbs and likes to cook, play the piano, and create poetry that tells a story, uses accessible language, and employs beautiful imagery. She is a member of the Second Saturday Poets in Palatine, IL. Recent publications include: Paterson Literary Review, After Hours, Passager, and Naugatuck River Review.