A Poem by Ben Rasnic

Stalemate

 

In Junior High School,

I loved her from afar,

spent entire evenings

scripting for chance conversations.

 

Yet every opportunity

that availed itself

was never the right moment,

 

hand poised

like flypaper

over a chess board.

 

 

 

Ben Rasnic is a native of Jonesville, a small rural town in Southwest Virginia with a population <1000.  A Pushcart Prize nominee in 2011, Rasnic still considers as his greatest literary achievement, electing to publish two short poems by Yusef Komunyakaa while serving as editor of his college literary magazine, Jimson Weed, in 1978—16 years before Komunyakaa received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.  He is the author of two volumes of poetry, “Artifacts and Legends” (2012) and “Puppet” (2013), both available on amazon.com.. Ben currently resides in Bowie, Maryland.