David Milley

David Milley's recent work appears in 3rd Wednesday, RFD Magazine, Friends Journal, The Amphibian, and Feral. David lives in New Jersey with his husband, Warren Davy, who's made his living as a farmer, woodcutter, nurseryman, auctioneer, beekeeper, and cook. These days, Warren tends his garden and keeps honeybees. David walks and writes.

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► David Milley's microchap & (selected) poems are available below. Download the PDF by clicking the title.

Origami Microchap with Selected Poems

Figurines Pulled from Boxes of Tea

Click title to download micro

Cover photo from author

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2. Tortoise

High-backed, pale green,
glossy head, tail, shell, and flippers,
the tortoise peers up from its tiny plinth,
staring eyes and open mouth, wide slits.

On one side, between forelimb and hind,
words I cannot read.
I find a magnifying glass:
“Wade Eng.”

Old stories tell us
a tortoise carries our world upon its back,
moving slowly,
groaning with the weight.

This tortoise looks like that,
but carries a lighter load:
a reminder of years of boxes of tea.
Time to buy another.

5, Tiny Taj

Curry beneath glaze, not the color of marble,
a one-inch tower gleams. Two short towers,
hexagonal, flank it. Onion spires top them all.
“Wade” is embossed into one end of the base.

Arjumand married Prince Khurram for love.
His second wife, she ruled beside him. She bore
fourteen children. As Mahal, bearing one more,
she died. The bereft Shah built her stony tomb.

You and I have lived together fifty years.
Blessed, foolish, greedy, I long for many more,
to go on forever as we’ve gone on so far.
It cannot be. Even long lives end too soon.

Shah Jahan upraised marble; I have only words.
We build with what we have. We hope it endures.

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