I forgot the earth and heaven
every morning this
city introduces me
to a new shade of gray
I’m wearing a t-shirt
of an old friends
long dead country band
the ocean’s a rocks glass
overfull with ice
a trick to sterilize the taste
I saw a crass sticker
on a kia soul
a voice in my head says maniacal laugh
there’s a pitcher of beer
waiting for me
I’m almost sure its a cry for help
she drops her head on my shoulder
irrigation systems, telegraph poles
I say, I love you, sorry yr suffering
it should be a regular greeting
in this cathedral
the noise is unbearable
About the Author: Jason Baldinger is a poet from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was recently a Writer in Residence at Osage Arts Community, and is founder and co-director of The Bridge Series. He has multiple books available including the soon to be released The Better Angels of our Nature (Kung Fu Treachery) and the split books The Ugly Side of the Lake with John Dorsey (Night Ballet Press) as well as Little Fires Hiding with James Benger (Kung Fu Treachery Press). His work has been published widely in print journals and online. You can listen to him read his work on Bandcamp on lps by the bands Theremonster and The Gotobeds.
Photo Credit: Lee Russell “Native of Olga, Louisiana drinking at the bar. Note the branch of tree used as a mosquito switch” (1938) The Library of Congress
As It Ought To Be 