Ron Torrence published his first short story at age 50 and his first poem at age 80. Even so his fiction, non-fiction and poetry are pretty widely published. He’s also written five novels and a screen play, all unpublished. Much more to do. His work has appeared in American Writer’s Review, Crack The Spine, The Dirty Goat, Dos Passos Review, Existere Journal, Forge, The MacGuffin, Menda City Review, Nassau Review, riverSedge, Orange Willow Review, Slipstream, Eureka Literary Magazine, Oxalis, Ash, Potent Aphrodisiac, Rockhurst Review, The Tower Journal, Thereby Hangs A Tale, Typo, Sour Grapes, Circuit Traces, RE:AL, Reflections Literary Journal, way station magazine, West Wind Review, Wild Violet, Yellow Mama and Pleasant Living.

a thing of beauty

veronica

a vision
gentler
than white roses
of royal gardens

a voice
to woo spring
from winter’s grip

luminous eyes
brought into being
to inspire love

when christening her twins
the archbishop thought

it could have been
this face
pietà’d 
by michelangelo


veronica

personified

motherhood

throughout the land 


until
 

she put her babies in the oven

to bake a cake

heirloom

this
is
my nut cup

almonds
pistachios
cashews

every day

my children know it well


after i die
they’ll tell their children

this
is
grampa’s nut cup

he ate nuts every day


they’ll tell their children

this
is
great grandfather’s cup


one day
great great daughter-in-law will ask
what’s this old cup?

great great grandson will say
great great grandfather’s i think

should we keep it?

i guess so

we have so much stuff
perhaps salvation army?
wait – it’s cracked

they 
won’t
 take it

i’ll toss it in the trash he’ll say

tar pits

trainless rails
snake
town after town

rubbled brick buildings

innards once
roaring
grinding
crushing

only echoes

trainless rails
snaking
town after town

sagging saw roofs

chimneys once
sparking
flaming
belching

only echoes

what cataclysmed

such
great 
creatures

town after town