Poetry by Matthew McGuirk : Shelf Life

Poem originally published in Tattie Zine Issue 2

Shelf Life

The potatoes from the store
didn’t make it to a soup, the oven, or the fryer in time.
They sat too long on the counter, 
waiting for our attention.
The golden skin growing dark eyes to see the kitchen
and their gaze watched us wander by. 
They were soft and sprouted, 
no longer something of use. 
I threw them out the door
and kicked some dirt over them
to hide the evidence of neglect.
Soon, green shoots emerged;
new growth even in hard times. 

Bio: Matt McGuirk teaches and lives with his wife and two daughters in New Hampshire. He was a BOTN 2021 nominee, is now a regular contributor at Fevers of the Mind and has poems and stories published in 50+ literary magazines with 100+ accepted pieces. His debut collection, Daydreams, Obsessions, Realities with Alien Buddha Press isavailable on Amazon, linked in the bio and also on his website.Follow him on Twitter: @McguirkMatthew and Instagram: @mcguirk_matthew. 

Website: http://linktr.ee/McGuirkMatthew Daydreams, Obsessions, Realities: https://www.amazon.com/Daydreams-Obsessions-Realities-hybrid-collection/dp/B09M5KY8HH/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=