The allure of an adjacent car
is young and warm; sunny
hair mingles with exhaust, sweat,
and the remains of another day,
one arm hung over the side.
The crawl of bumper-to-bumper
flattens a man’s tail feathers.
With one glance from her flash
and pink, she takes carbon honey
beyond the sweltering blacktop
and glances into a felt chorus
of visual verve. Melancholia stares
sidelong, and Odysseus’ five o’clock
eyes are plucked by her radio song.
Austin Allen James
Austin Allen James is a Visiting Professor at Texas Southern University in Houston, TX. He has taught at TSU since the Fall of 2012. Austin was a committee member in 2016 charged with creating a “Professional Writing” concentration that includes five creative writing classes. Austin is also a visual artist, sculptor, and furniture designer.
Header image by Sudhith Xavier.
