In the black vase. Beneath the
fourth stone of the patio walk.
Between leather-bound volumes
of Cervantes and Chaucer. In
the pocket of a tweed jacket
you forgot you ever wore. On
the ledge of the cuckoo clock.
At the bottom of the cedar chest
next to an ivory and pearl dress.
On the third finger of the left
hand where you placed it long ago.
Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He has a wife named Vickie, a daughter named Sage and five adult step-children. Between mid-1993 and mid-1994, he wrote over 1,100 and had over 500 of those poems published in The Red Cedar Review, International Poetry Review, Imago, Sierra Nevada College Review, Pirate Writings, Smiths Knoll, Grasslands Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, Poetpourri, Mind Matters Review, Onionhead , Fox Cry and others. In 1994 he opened an antique mall and found little time for poetry for more than a decade until closing his store.