Joshua Young
This Fabulous Century
that pressure―
we taste honey & where are all the fish? pike place, you smell of chowder, the waterfront, traffic &
the guy plays piano. remember how you learned to hold your breath when the dentist checked your
gums?
*
skateland & popcorn.
when the television
sparks, american
flags, still.
do they know?
green lockers,
the bathroom-silence.
who is the poor one?
if the curtains
are drawn,
then it must be over―
*
she prefers sunsets & a knife―the herald sign, the marker, my brother always finds a way to frame
it. can you place its location? do you know it? is it notched in your
history?
this glow i look for when i return―
Caskets
it’s a shame you left the camera―
i keep talking about caskets.
i know, i know.
the flood in snohomish took out the farms
& farmhouses
& regular houses
& the roads are new sections of the river.
dozens of caskets rose from the church graveyard.
we wanted to touch the limbs of the skeleton―
what it’s like to be dead for decades.
our parents would’ve told us not to look, but we are adults.
Joshua Young is the author of When the Wolves Quit: A Play-in-Verse (Gold Wake Press), To the Chapel of Light (Mud Luscious Press), and The Diegesis (Gold Wake Press), written with Chas Hoppe. His work has appeared in or is forthcoming from Gulf Coast, Fugue, Puerto del Sol, and Ghost Proposal. He is Associate Director of Poetry & Nonfiction at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches Poetry and Writing. He lives in Chicago with his wife, their son, and their dog. Find him here
Return to July 2013 Edition
that pressure―
we taste honey & where are all the fish? pike place, you smell of chowder, the waterfront, traffic &
the guy plays piano. remember how you learned to hold your breath when the dentist checked your
gums?
*
skateland & popcorn.
when the television
sparks, american
flags, still.
do they know?
green lockers,
the bathroom-silence.
who is the poor one?
if the curtains
are drawn,
then it must be over―
*
she prefers sunsets & a knife―the herald sign, the marker, my brother always finds a way to frame
it. can you place its location? do you know it? is it notched in your
history?
this glow i look for when i return―
Caskets
it’s a shame you left the camera―
i keep talking about caskets.
i know, i know.
the flood in snohomish took out the farms
& farmhouses
& regular houses
& the roads are new sections of the river.
dozens of caskets rose from the church graveyard.
we wanted to touch the limbs of the skeleton―
what it’s like to be dead for decades.
our parents would’ve told us not to look, but we are adults.
Joshua Young is the author of When the Wolves Quit: A Play-in-Verse (Gold Wake Press), To the Chapel of Light (Mud Luscious Press), and The Diegesis (Gold Wake Press), written with Chas Hoppe. His work has appeared in or is forthcoming from Gulf Coast, Fugue, Puerto del Sol, and Ghost Proposal. He is Associate Director of Poetry & Nonfiction at Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches Poetry and Writing. He lives in Chicago with his wife, their son, and their dog. Find him here
Return to July 2013 Edition