In a Language You Don't Understand

Last week, Fevers of the Mind published two poems I wrote recently. I am reposting them here for your reading convenience.

The Saddest ThingI thought I had seenThe saddest thing whenI saw a dead duckOn the sidewalkHer neck a broken question markAskingI thought I had seenThe saddest thing whenI saw a drowned cowSunk in the shallowsHer body a sack of meat and mudDrinkingI thought I had seenThe saddest thing, thenMimi Parker diedDark curls gone limpHer voice still up on a noteSinging To Feel WarmI came home and The stove clock read 350And for a momentI thought I'd left the oven onPreheating the dayLike the Florida sunI did get the message you sentI'm pretty perceptiveEven if I can’t take a hintPerhaps we could prop each other upIf only to see what it meantTo feel warm

Fevers of the Mind previously published two of my other poems this summer (“San Diego” and “Like a Totem”) and a “Quick 9” interview with me in 2021.

Check out the site. Lots of good stuff up there.

ICYMI: Cover art by me.

If you like these little poems, I have a whole chapbook of them available from First Cut Poetry called Abandoned Accounts (Most of them are happier than the ones I shared above, so don’t be scared to check them out).

As always, thank you for reading,

-royc.

http://roychristopher.com