Night Swimming After working another shift in the oppressive Jersey heat taking food orders from the privileged and counting tips so I can make my rent that just went up again any ghost from Roman literature would definitely point out that I haven’t been very carpe diem as of lately so I make my way to North End beach surrounded by teenagers making out past their curfews in the sand and stoners hot-boxing beneath overturned lifeguard boats I take off my work clothes while this drunken couple on the shoreline beside me continue their post-bar conversation about the fate of the world the fate of us all, fire and ice, as if they were knocking back a few earlier with Robert Frost they try to ask me what I think but I’m already diving into the surf and by the time I resurface they leave and all I’m left with is just this darkness as I float on the calmness of the water I don't know what’ll happen I think to myself but the stars sure do look pretty tonight.
About the Author: Cord Moreski is a poet from the Jersey Shore. Moreski is the author of Confined Spaces (Two Key Customs, 2022), The News Around Town (Maverick Duck Press, 2020), and Shaking Hands with Time (Indigent Press, 2018). When he is not writing, Cord waits tables for a living and teaches middle school children that poetry is awesome. His next chapbook Apartment Poems will be released by Between Shadows Press in late 2022. You can follow Cord here: www.cordmoreski.com
Image Credit: Léon Spilliaert “Beachview at Night” (1905) Public domain image courtesy of Artvee
As It Ought To Be 