John Q. Mars
Snapshot of Whimsy Through Raging Sepia
Patsy Cline’s “Strange” spills out of the radio the grainy croon tumbles
through and begins filling the cab of your dead grandfather’s ’72 Ford pickup
Our smoke pools on the ceiling creating the perfect storm before the cooler dampness sucks it out the window’s slit The cracked seat cushions cut
into the backs of our thighs and the humidity coats our stagnant skin but
strange you changed like night and day outside it rages
I watch the droplets chase each other down the windshield but
some are caught in the spider-webbed fissures stemming from the
bullet hole you told your parents was a rock from some asshole but look
what thoughts can bring on the interstate Flies buzz in
the lucky ones find their way back outside though most lie scattered
on the dash having long since suffocated and desiccated in the haze
Lightning shoots from the ground up its flash a shadow behind my eyes
inexplicably I turn to find someone sitting on the side of the truck bed
Hunched figure in soaked clothes stuck to an emaciated frame they look
up in the sky’s sallow light an echo of understanding
nettles my stifling ecstasy oh what a funny thing prickling through
my ephemeral peace Oh but you do not see anyone Who is this idea
this day-terror lost in the violent liminality I feel tugging
at some intangible the viscera inside oh how strange
my eyes look back into me and mine A shade of myself conjured through some spell of nostalgia and desperation
hope for the future how strange how strange left out in the rain
John Q. Mars is an undergraduate student at New York University in the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. He is concentrating in poetry, philosophy, and foreign languages. His four poems in What Rough Beast are his first poetry publications.
SUBMIT to What Rough Beast via our SUBMITTABLE site.
If you want to support the mission and work of Indolent Books, consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Indolent Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity.
Join our mailing list to receive news, updates, and special offers from Indolent Books.