The Descent of Man
An ape fell off its family tree,
then stood upright on spindly limbs
and moved around bipedally,
which led to better hands and thumbs
and bigger brains, and you and me
with culture, art, and atom bombs.
To Eva, Who Clings To Chastity
Why say such ecstasy is vice?
Why label pleasure sin?
Open your gates of paradise
And let my serpent in.
Richard Meyer, a former English and humanities teacher, lives in the home his father built in Mankato, a city at the bend of the Minnesota River. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in various print and online publications, including Able Muse, 14 Magazine, The Raintown Review, The Flea, Measure, and The Evansville Review. His poem “Fieldstone” was selected as the winner of the 2012 Robert Frost Farm Prize, and his poem “La Gioconda” was chosen as a top sonnet for the 2013 Great River Shakespeare Festival.