you might be wondering,
standing there all stupid & expectant
as I used to stand
with the purple daffodil that you call
an azalea in your left fist,
if the sacrifice was for nothing
i mean, we’ve all seen the cars
that were hopelessly short and far
too near the perfect hue
daydreaming sleepcruising past
the only intersection
that mattered (for about a year)
most have smelled
the firs and spruces belaboring
the snow that only crouched in their arms
by accident, as if that’s
why the morning glories
and the swallows left
please, don’t sip that apricot
juice, or make your plastic spoon
dance in the pistachio yogurt it’s done
and not even the power lines
can hold the two halves of the rifted
together anymore
J.M. Hall
Nominated by the editors of Verdad literary journal for inclusion in the 16th annual Best of the Net Anthology, J.M. Hall has published a mini-chapbook collection and individual poems in numerous literary journals, recently including North Dakota Quarterly, FOLIO, and Roanoke Review, as well as a previously-published poem featured on Grub Street Literary Magazine’s website.
Having earned a PhD in Philosophy from Vanderbilt University, he has also published seventy-seven peer-reviewed journal articles, and coedited with Sarah Tyson, Philosophy Imprisoned: The Love of Wisdom in the Age of Mass Incarceration. Finally, he also has twenty-eight years’ experience as a choreographer and dancer.
Header image by Photoholgic
