from The Sugar House
Charlie Malone
the newly agreed upon Reaganite future is shiny
and not this
the newly agreed upon future of the family is not
nuclear/(unclear)
grass will not be mowed regularly
the roof of the garage will sway, buckle, & bury
forget the future tense
right now it’s the 80s
the children are exceptional
the sweet corn is delicious
each new cul-de-sac is a nod
to the first big red O in Ohio
~~~
beyond this—Cleveland
its methane flame burning in the flats
El Greco’s Christ on The Cross
hangs outside
constant construction cannot keep pace
with growth and suffering
a big peaceful cement pond reflects tarnished copper
the Methodist’s oil-can church
& escalators carry
families
business & homeless men & women up
into the marble belly of a tower
& all the streets and towers light up for show and safety
in sounding night
city is a chorus of sirens
& glass doors hold back stale humid air
worse when wind blows off the shallow lake
where old shipwrecks
make drunk stories and craft beer labels
& seagulls chase garbage trucks
warm currents
of exhaust lift their wings
~~~~~
Charlie Malone lives, writes, and teaches in Fort Collins, Colorado where he edits a quarterly, ultra-local newszine, Matterhorn, and curates the poetry for Matter Journal. Both publications belong to Wolverine Farm Publishing. Charlie went to school for many years at Kent State and Colorado State; he liked it just fine. His work has appeared in Sugar House Review, Laurel Review, Phoebe, Harpur Palate, Boneshaker: A Bicycling Almanac, and Permafrost.