Lew Watts

Arcus juvenilis

Wax and fat in the veins, 
the penalties of pleasure, packed in prawns,  
oiled with oysters, offal and cheese, 
is there no end to your curse? 
In the slow descent from 370,  
life is bran-flake paste on the pallet, 
chicken skillets in skimmed milk, 
tuna bones in brine, 
and not a real drop to drink. 
Bring on the pills and pils 
and the yellowed eyes of yolks; 
fear not the avocado, 
with its guacamole ambush 
and the green plaque of thrombosis. 

eyeball-to-eyeball
my cholesterol count
in the pre-nup

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About the Author

Lew Watts is the haibun co-editor of Frogpond and the author of Tick-Tock (Snapshot Press, 2019), a haibun collection that received an Honorable Mention in the Haiku Society of America’s 2020 Merit Book Awards. His publications include the novel Marcel Malone and the poetry collection Lessons for Tangueros. He lives in Chicago.