Two cars, parked
side by side, tick
as they cool: the easy, summer
banter of metals.
Woods consider creaking and splintering
wrenching—even devastating—soul-talk.
While ceramics stay contentedly silent
unless occasioned to a shattering shout.
And plastics—manufactured uncommunicative—
remain lifelessly so.
It’s your silky skin
alone—
my sleepy, snuggling
darling—
that tenders in
whispers.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 24, Issue 1.
Mark Belair’s poems have appeared in numerous journals, including Alabama Literary Review, Euphony Journal, Harvard Review, and Michigan Quarterly Review. Author of seven collections of poems, his most recent book is Stonehaven, a work of fiction (Turning Point Books, 2020). Its sequel, Edgewood, will be published by Turning Point in the fall. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize multiple times, as well as for a Best of the Net Award. Please visit www.markbelair.com
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