No exclamation points

A poem.

A bookend holds bestsellers in place on a bookshelf at The Book Cellar, an independent bookstore in Lincoln Square in Chicago, Illinois.

Ann Hermes/The Christian Science Monitor

March 16, 2016

No exclamation points

in short stories, the teacher says.

They’ve been over-used and the reservoir is empty. 

Israel has a Houthi missile problem. It’s stuck finding a solution.

When exclamation points rain from the sky

then we can use them.

But until then: Help. Run. Fire.

Perhaps this is why

it’s so hard to convey

These Memphis icons bolster Black radio – and their communities

the excitement

of an acceptance letter. 

Something is lost in

Wow. They’re publishing my book.