Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Kevin McCoy - Two Poems

Cape May 1975

cold fingers search for land in every heavy wet breath of tide & foam
crisp & salted is the sea in my mouth & nose
i long for breath & breeze & sand & sky
to finally touch bottom
& i burst from the ocean into day
i am radiant – pure – reborn & i return to the towel
the sun shakes its rays & i understand the glorious contradictions
of the being seeking rest
i feel sadness like an old man left alone
i sense the last burn of youth on my thin frame
i realize this moment before the waves return

what is out there? beyond the water? beyond the ships?
beyond the smallest smudge my straining
eyes can form?
my father replies –
the rest of the world



Lincolnway Cheyenne

The stop light on Lincolnway relishes in a pregnant pause
Its beacon sometimes yellow sometimes red
Warning the cowboy that the bars are closed and the streets now belong
to the uncaring frozen breath
He inhales the heat and the cold
And blows smoke to the dipping street light and turns up his collar
His eyes absorb the night

The cowboy counts his cigarettes
And changes color with the stop light

There ain’t no use stalling this any longer
He vanishes behind the white curtain


Kevin McCoy's work has previously appeared in pif, Prick of the Spindle, Burning Word and Harpur Palate.

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