Piker Press — Weekly Journal of Arts and Literature
April 27, 2026

Unclear on the Concept

Phillip Larrea is the author of <i>We the People</i> and <i>Our Patch</i>. Since 2012, his poems have appeared in over 60 journals, anthologies and magazines in the U.S., Ireland, Canada and Asia. He is the winner of the 2013 New Frontier Prize for poetry, and has been nominated twice for the 2014 Pushcart Prize.

Healthy Human
Department sent
me a debit
card with which to
buy any cure
for what ails me.
I had not so
much as an egg
yolk to my name.
Naturally
I brought a flat
of bright yellow
geraniums
to the counter
who politely
informed me that
flowers do not
constitute a
qualified sale.
Clearly I am
unclear on the
concept of what
makes a human
being healthy.






About The Author...

Phillip Larrea was born and raised in Sacramento, CA., lived in N.Y.C. and Northern New Jersey most of his adult life, but has since moved back to Sacramento "where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me." (Paul Simon - "The Boxer"). He studied poetry with Thom Gunn and Karl Shapiro at the University of California at Davis during the late seventies, and then all but abandoned writing until 2011. Since 2011, Phillip has had poetry published in over sixty journals and anthologies, is the author of Our Patch (Writing Knights Press), We the People (Cold River Press) and hundreds of non-fiction essays about the economic conditions of the average working household.

Article © Phillip Larrea. All rights reserved.
Published in the January 27, 2014 issue .
Image(s) © Livia Vorange. All rights reserved.
More by Phillip Larrea → More poetry → Full issue →
Share: 𝕏 f
Reader Comments
3 Reader Comments
Anonymous
01/28/2014
11:42:40 AM
I think, Phillip, that you have the right idea about what cures human ailments.
Anonymous
01/28/2014
08:47:19 PM
Dear Philip, I have been thinking about this as I receive Medi-Cal for having a limited income. I will have medical care, but no home, unless things change in the job market for us. Thus I see the flowers as you do, essential for mental and physical well-being. Lovely poem.
Anonymous
01/29/2014
07:59:38 PM
Thank you both for reading and appreciating what I was trying to get at with this one. I hope you will continue to tune in to The Piker Press.
Leave a Comment






All comments are moderated.
Commenting policy