Murphy Writing of Stockton University Presents
This entry is part of Getaway Reads, an e-mail series that features the writing of the Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway faculty.
Closing Time
by Peter E. Murphy
The 24 hour bars in Atlantic City have three happy hours
a day so I can pursue happiness whenever my shift lets out.
I know the end is near when the cleaners appear to scrape gum
from the gaudy carpets and drizzle disinfectant over urine
dripped from the dicers who don’t want to lose their place
at the table. Gullible men who believe they can game the ivories
they toss across the green felt when they can’t control their bladders.
I used to think life was a chain of dominoes, and if I tipped
one over, all my problems would come ‘a tumbling down.
I also believed being happy was the key to happiness,
and that just made me sadder. Everyone suffers, my friends,
and most of us suffer more than others as we lumber
down the Boardwalk from Pampers to Depends,
mewling and puking and leaking at both ends.
© Peter E. Murphy. Published in Light Journal, Summer 2019.
No Problem
by Peter E. Murphy
I rise out of the subway on 34th Street
and cover my eyes as the morning sunshine
blinds me, and I imagine this is how Lazarus
must have felt as he stumbled from his crypt,
unaware that the biggest problem everyone
faces has suddenly become for him, no problem.
I join the line at Java Land, not sure if Lazarus
died a second time. I picture him skipping
stones on the Dead Sea wondering
where everybody went. Ahead, customers
place their orders for a Venti, Skinny, Red-Eye Drip,
as the cheery barista says, No Problem.
Triple, Trent, Soy, No Foam Latte, No Problem.
Short, Dirty Chai. No Problem.
When it’s my turn, I say, Regular Coffee,
and suddenly the music spilling from the ceiling
crashes to the faux marble floor,
and the line behind me crushes to a stop.
Is there a problem? I ask the barista.
No prob…problem, he stammers,
but we don’t have regular.
That’s sounds like a problem, I say.
When he suggests a Tall, I nod.
The playlist brushes off its knees and starts up
as conversations return to their storylines.
When he asks my name, I say, No Problem,
and he writes, No Problem on the side of the cup
that won’t be big enough to change my life.
Can you supersize that? I ask.
He grabs a cardboard bucket as tall as the Empire
State Building, fills it to the brim with liquid life,
hands it to me, and as I pay, says, Have a nice day.
© Peter E. Murphy. Published in Watershed Review, Spring 2018.
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The Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway and Murphy Writing are programs of Stockton University.
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Want to study with Peter E. Murphy? Peter will be leading New Year, New You: A Pre-Getaway Writing Workshop and facilitating the poetry workshops at the 2020 Winter Poetry and Prose Getaway.
Peter E. Murphy was born in Wales and grew up in New York City where he operated heavy equipment, managed a nightclub and drove a taxi. He is the author of eleven books and chapbooks including The Man Who Never Was, Mean Time and two books of writing prompts. More than a dozen excerpts of his memoir-in-progress, You Go To My Head, have been published as standalone pieces in journals, including “Looking for Thelma,” winner of the 2018 Wilt Nonfiction Chapbook Prize. The founder of Murphy Writing of Stockton University, Peter has received dozens of awards and fellowships and has led hundreds of workshops for writers and teachers. Read an interview with Peter and an excerpt from his memoir in The Lightening Key Review.
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Our Participants Say It Best
“Peter’s humor, warmth and moral compass set the tone for the weekend. Although I was among mostly strangers, I felt accepted and appreciated. The permission to write a ‘messy first draft’ was liberating! It was also wonderful to be reminded that writing matters and extends beyond the walls of our studies, the journals in which we publish our work and the readings we give.”
~ Linda, Verona, NJ
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