From the Streets to the Friendly Skies

& Everything in Between

poems by

Nicholas Patti

Pure Heart Press

ISBN: 978-1-59948-843-1, ~92 pages, $15 (+ shipping)

Release Date: October 1, 2020

 

Nicholas Patti holds an MA degree in English from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a BA in English and History from the University of Rochester, in Rochester, NY. He has taught public speaking at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY. He has been reading at open mics for poetry in Albany, NY, New York, NY, and Charlotte/Huntersville, NC, since 1996. In 2008 and 2010, he edited and published two issues of Riverfront: A Zine of Poems, from New York City. In addition, he served as associate slacker editor of Stained Sheets, published in New York City, in 2005. His journalism has appeared in The Village Voice (New York, NY), The Phoenix (Brooklyn, NY), The Ann Arbor News (Ann Arbor, MI), and The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA). He has written numerous biography profiles for reference books published by Gale-Cengage Learning (Farmington Hills, MI, and Detroit, MI). He maintains a news blog, at this time, at nickpattifeatures.com. Currently, he lives modestly in Charlotte, NC.

 

Contact information:

Nick Patti
PO BOX 562061
Charlotte, NC 28256

Email: unionpoet@earthlink.net

Blog: NickPattiFeatures.com

Ode to a Sunny, Back-lawn Terrace
in Charlotte in November

 

The dogs
names

are
Ramos,

and Molly.
You need

to know
those

names
for the

simple reason
that

they
own

the
yard.

Yes,
the yard

is
sunny.

Yes,
it is

fenced-
in,

so
they

can
roam around

freely,
off-the-

leash.
Yes,

the
terrace

with
suburban-esque

table,
end-tables,

chairs
and ferns

is,
well…

suburban-esque.
And sunny,

too.
Did I

mention
that fact?

And
yes,

it
is November.

The
dry, temperate

afternoon,
afternoons, really,

are
thanks

to
the dry warmth

of
the climate

in
the Fall

here
in Western

North Carolina.
All

of
this

is
simple

to
wrap your

brain
around

if
you remember

just
one,

simple
fact:

Molly
and

Ramos
own

the
yard.

 

---

 

Lunch

 

One lucky break
with

the police
equaled

one
much-appreciated

soup kitchen
meal.

The
two officers

were
standing just

off
to the side,

casing
the joint.

The
two of us

partners
in crime

stepped
up

to
the plate—

guilty
of

abusing
an unlimited-ride

fare card,
one count

of
fare evasion.

When
the train came,

my card
would not

work,
so I tried

jumping
the turnstile.

“No!”
I shouted,

one
leg

half-
over,

when
I saw

the cop.
My

friend
stepped up.

“No,
officer,”

he
cried,

“I
am the

guilty
one.

My
friend

swiped
me in

on his
unlimited-

ride
fare card.”

The
officer

had
a change

of
heart.

“Do
you

have
an

unlimited-
ride

fare-
card?”

he
asked.

“Yes,”
I replied,

“Go
ahead,”

he
said,

and
nodded

over
his

shoulder.
It was

all
smooth sailing

from
there:

we
made

lunch.