Buddy & Skippy
as a boy
my cousin steve
had a pair of imaginary friends
just in case
one of them
was ever out sick
just so neither of them
would ever have to feel lonely
35 years later
i think about how
none of us
have any friends at 3 am
unless we’re dying
& at a certain point
we all grapple with loneliness
& i wonder if steve’s imaginary friends
had imaginary friends of their own
the kind you can call
any time
for any reason
day or night.
*
John Dorsey is the former Poet Laureate of Belle, MO. He is the author of several collections of poetry, including Which Way to the River: Selected Poems: 2016-2020 (OAC Books, 2020), Sundown at the Redneck Carnival, (Spartan Press, 2022, and Pocatello Wildflower, (Crisis Chronicles Press, 2023). He may be reached at archerevans@yahoo.com.
