Richard King Perkins II

Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He lives in Crystal Lake, IL, USA with his wife, Vickie and daughter, Sage. He is a three-time Pushcart, Best of the Net and Best of the Web nominee whose work has appeared in more than a thousand publications.

An Absence of Incarnadine

The earliest hours are the slowest hours
muted

with an absence of incarnadine.

The memory of day
is a saffron stain.

A woman sweats,
unrecognized

in bra and panties

alone on a worn grey corduroy couch
listening to the sleep of her children.

Come morning,
to their expectant faces

she professes love.

Faces of Stone

You thought I might
have an attachment

to an unused postcard

from a trip we took
to the Black Hills
back in ‘99.

You said you found it

while going through things
to give to Goodwill

and offered to send it
to me

in a padded mailer
or a large envelope.

I laughed
and asked if you

could just put a stamp on it
and give it
to the letter carrier.

It was delivered
a few minutes ago

along with
a credit card statement
and advertising
from State Farm.

I don’t know why
I was surprised to find

that it says
nothing

which pretty
much says it all.

Siggy with Dementia

is still covered
in a bunch of fucked up ‘60s tattoos

all blotched and incoherent
and now I’m on the phone

with his son Steve
who can’t understand

why no one will let his old man
into their nursing home.

Steve tells me his father
was a great dad

from the very first day he got released
after the tire-iron murder

and even in the days
when he was still riding rough

Siggy had a street rep
as the one dude

who would share his needle
with anyone who asked.