Nope, haven't done the thriller piece yet. Spent today with my kids and yesterday was hammering on the sequel to Occupation. It's starting to gain steam again. But while I was working on that, I started writing some Spoon River poems. Basically, they are written by a person who has died. This was my submittal. I've cranked out four more for the Military Poetry Book I will release in July/August.

Lou Gehrig

It wasn’t long ago,

I was a normal Italian

Kid in the burrow. Stick ball

Was the game of the day.

How times have changed.

The sound of the crowd,

The crack of the bat,

The cheers from the mates.

They call me the Iron Man.

My fingers tingle with the

Touch of metal. My voice is

Unsteady and hoarse, yet I

must come to bat one final time.

One more pitch, one more swing.

I consider myself the luckiest man

In the world.

The cheers and cries become muffled as

the dirt covers my eternal tomb.

A smile creeps across my cold lips

and deaf ears.

“Strike three Lou. Come play on my team.”

Jeff Dawson Copyright@2013 LDDJ Enterprises Publishing