A WIZARD'S HAT

The moon and stars like a wizard’s hat welcomed June until she was gone.
When the Waffle House waitress asked if we left her tip in the bathroom,
she smiled and said, “Only kidding,” truckers smirked.
We stashed receipts in the glove box underneath antibacterial gel.
You need some out here when neon prices spike thirty cents higher and no one knows why.
Our car is a bubble of dripping ice on coins swallowed by a toll that winks
when her arm waves goodbye




Jill Carey Michaels is an English professor at the State University in Oneonta, NY and teaches for The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online. After receiving an MFA in Computer Art from The School of Visual Arts, her prints and graphic designs were published in newspapers, books as well as exhibited in The Museum of American Folk Art.  In 2013, Ms. Michaels’ one woman show, “Nice Girl,” debuted in NYC and chronicled her edgy, true life adventures in song and spokenword. She continues to share her humorous, observations of life and in 2014, she began her weekly NPR radio show “American Storysongs,” giving Jill yet another outlet to express her unique brand of storytelling on air.  Her latest projects can be found at jillcareymichaels.com, her blog lifehalfundone.wordpress.com and americanstorysongs.com. Contact: