“Leftovers”by Gail Peck

Leftovers

Fisherman docked in the dusk, cleaning their catch

of whitefish and steelhead, cigarettes dangling from their lips.

River running full since yesterday's rain; the bay,

calmed by night's fall, laps the shore.

Air in the house pork ribbed and spare, coleslaw

leftover from yesterday, dyed pale green cabbage in white sauce.

Cats curl sleepy in chairs while the rumble and charge

of construction trucks

abates for now. Daybreak will haul them out again,

carrying asphalt and gravel for crews on the highway.

Ninth Line to Meaford torn up till Fall.

It's eight o'clock. Main Street locked and sidewalks darkened;

stock markets closed for another down day. Our money pours

into someone else's pocket.

Behind our doors, TV programs

distract us after dinner – The Wire, Missing, Mad Men –

The bay chills the night air. The escarpment shivers.

Gail Peck has authored several chapbooks (Equinox, Tourists, 26 Threads), and a full length volume of poems titled The Ninth Line.  Her poetry has appeared in Arrivals & Departures CommuterLit Anthology, Commuter Lit ON-line, The Literary Bohemian, Mosaic, The Leaf, and has won a Judge’s Choice Award, first place and honourable mentions in various Ontario Poetry Society poetry competitions. Her short story ”Charlotte’s Man” appeared in Commuter Lit online in the fall 2015. "Leftovers" won the Judge's Choice Award in the Ontario Poetry Society Food for Thought Contest. 

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