The man hustles into the room with ripe
petunias his mouth partly open he is ready
to speak urgent his discourse ripening the man
sets down his briefcase before taking a moment
the outline of his hand trembles against a wall
behind him before pushing his glasses
up his nose his eyes look like charcoal
if you catch him when his glasses
are not filled with light his eyes find you
in the crowd his eyes are eloquent
when he speaks you want to listen you want
to believe when he speaks he speaks
of things you want to hear when he speaks
you believe that you and he are good
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 17, Issue 1.
Matthew Stark wrote his first poem while shoveling snow back home in Monument, Colorado. He recently graduated with an MFA from the University of South Carolina as a James Dickey Fellow. His work is forthcoming in Jasper, Fall Lines, and JERRY Magazine.
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