THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A GREAT DARKNESS
Orphaned cars line the streets.
They all start wondering
about the lineage of their upholstery.
Questions repeated without variation
make the congregation uncomfortable
in their hats. Without warning
they’re reminded that they have hair
yelping to be set free! Say one thing
over & over into the atmosphere
& you’ll convince the stars to believe it.
Or else they’ll decide that they’re dead
already. Welcome to summer, the aroma
of a freshly chopped backyard. Sometimes,
we need a red blink to remind us it’s dangerous
to cross from one life to the next.
It reminds us to wake up. On Tuesdays,
the green blooms into a comet & we forget
to hate the barriers that entrap us.
Such a beautiful orange trumpet!
Sometimes a keyhole is shaped like a cloud.
Those same words escaped me three times
because I wanted their sincerity
to sway people to have faith in me.
It was something I did to stave off the darkness.
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NATE PRITTS is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Right Now More Than Ever. His poetry & prose have been widely published, both online & in print & on barns, at places like Southern Review, Forklift, Ohio, Court Green, Gulf Coast, Boston Review & Rain Taxi where he frequently contributes reviews. The founder & principal editor of H_NGM_N, an online journal & small press, he lives in Syracuse, New York.
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Read more by Nate Pritts:
Author page
Three poems and bio at The Poetry Foundation
Poem at TOAD