Impact
The kitchen displays its soft inventory of light.
An overturned cup drained of green tea reclaims its form.
Shimmering dust crystals sing their ambient music.
Outside, the trees model their latest outfits
for the squirrels scampering on their runways,
the pulsing dewlaps of opposing lizards.
I empty my pocket of thoughts on the counter,
next to half-eaten runny eggs,
stingily buttered toast,
and a tablet with the news of the day.
My memory behaves much like the window’s weather
arriving without a fixed schedule,
leaving running droplets that slide out of sight.
It is five to eight.
Time enough to make my mark on the world.
Time enough to captivate others
more than they will ever astonish me.
Zumwalt’s poetry examines the intersection of identity, instability, and the mechanics of perception. Recent work has appeared or will appear in Ink, Sweat & Tears, The Society of Classical Poets, Heavy Feather Review, and Light, with ten consecutive months of appearances in The New Verse News (2025–2026). Sample selected work at https://zumpoems.com/tag/poetry.
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