American Ingenuity  

I stood there angry –
face and body getting hammered 
by the cold, relentless wind. 
If I didn’t know I was standing on 
the Golden Gate Bridge, surrounded 
by a swarm of anxious tourists, 
I’d have thought I was a hopeless 1940s convict 
in “the yard” on Alcatraz Island – 
a mere mile and a half from the bridge. 
I couldn’t decide which was worse. 
I looked down at my windbreaker as it 
flapped uncontrollably like the flags on a frigid night 
at Candlestick Park in the 1990s. 
I looked at my jacket sleeve and smiled:  
“WindWall Technology™” 
I’m so glad they got that trademarked.  
Where would we be without WindWall Technology™ and  
American ingenuity. 

Lines 

And there they were 
two lines down my face 
just to the side of my mouth, under my nose 
all the way down to my lip. 

Lines 

I wasn’t even hungover either 
It was just another boring, 
sober, Wednesday night 
waiting for the alarm to go off  
to work for the Man on Thursday. 

Lines 

I stared at the greys in my beard 
and then down at the tube of 
“Anti-Aging” cream … 
I contemplated throwing it away. 
I looked up at my forehead. 

Lines 

I put the cream on: 
a generous portion, just as recommended.  

Author Bio:

Deno Gell is a poet and the voice behind Gell Studio Presents, an emerging platform for lyrical and poetic expression. His debut collection, Dreaming of North Beach (from Corporate America), draws from years spent straddling two worlds: the corporate halls of the tech industry and the dive bars, backstreets and poetic after-hours of San Francisco. Shaped by music,
burnout and the city itself, his voice explores the absurdity, ache, and dark humor of modern work life.

Originally from Chico, California, Deno has lived and worked in San Francisco since 2010. His debut collection is due out in August 2025. You can find more of his work on Instagram @thegellstudio.