Katherine Gekker
Poetry
Katherine Gekker is the author of In Search of Warm Breathing Things (Glass Lyre Press). Her poems have appeared in numerous journals. She serves as Assistant Poetry Editor for Delmarva Review. Gekker’s poems, collectively called “. . . to Cast a Shadow Again,” have been set to music by composer Eric Ewazen. Composer Carson Cooman has set a seasonal cycle of her poems, “Chasing the Moon Down,” to music. Gekker was born in Washington, DC. She founded a commercial printing company in 1974 and sold it 31 years later. She lives with her wife in Arlington, Virginia, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Annual Wellness Check
On the examination table, I squirm on squeaky paper,
surrounded by steel implements that could hurt. Prepare,
once again, to fail the clock test. What am I so afraid of.
Time? The question I'm always unprepared for?—
Have you felt sad at any time in the last few weeks?
A speech bubble appears over my head—no;
the thinking cloud—who hasn't?
Last night
I dreamed he stood at the bottom of a cement stairwell,
a sentry in shadows. Finally, after 4 decades, I told him
—I'm sorry. Really, truly sorry. He died
so many years before I was ready to apologize. My
deceptions still trapped on the steps between us.
In the morning, Dickinson—Somehow myself survived
the Night / And entered with the Day—Emily, in her
tiny room. I, still trapped inside that dream. The doctor & I
enclosed together. These confessionals. Have you felt sad.
“ I've entered the age of Medicare-mandated annual wellness checks. I'm worried about my future. And I'm still haunted by my past. ”
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