Ronnie McGinn's Poetry Page

There is an inspiring technique within this week's poem from Wendy Sloan. One can sense the author's disturbance and feel the subdued psychological pressure and the controlled instinctive reaction, all beautifully masked and overpowered by a loving parent's emotional concern.

One can taste the wry humour from the underlying rhythm of the words. Wendy Sloan is an attorney living in New York City. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Iambs & Trochees, Measure, Blue Unicorn, Mezzo Cammin, and The Raintown Review. She was a finalist in the 2006 Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award Competition.

Email From New York To An Almost Grown-Up Daughter Away On Vacation

Things fell apart soon after
you left town. The super
from your building called
to say that there was water
leaking four floors down
from your apartment.
That friend you let stay
forgot to turn the faucet all the way.
The building also
had a role to play:
they'd shut the water off,
then brought it back
without much notice.
Although your friend's lack
of common sense
is rather hard to take.
Well, anyway,
this isn't an attack.
It was an accident,
a dumb mistake.
Stuff happens. Really,
no one was to blame.
We're taking care of your
insurance claim.

© Wendy Sloan