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Joey Gould

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A12 After a Concert 

 Full after a meal
we recline,
this night different
from a normal night
in the way the cool hits
our overwarm bodies.

Sated, ears popping,
hardly hearing Bjork
on the tapedeck singing
All is Full of Love
on the A12

& the radio leaves a wake of sound waves
skipping over the pond.

Streetlights morph & distort
Nicky’s half-sleep half-smile,
Karen’s knuckles curl
& cuddle the steering wheel.
We listen listlessly
every hard breath of soft
night air we sigh.

My forehead touches the glass
and melts into condensation,
I am parched, but drink
2 am like I’ve been desert-crawling
between panes of chilled glass.

In the dark,
eighth notes scatter behind us.
Joey Gould, a non-binary writing tutor, wrote The Acute Avian Heart (2019, Lily Poetry Review).  Twice nominated for Bettering American Poetry and once for a Pushcart Prize, Joey's work has appeared in Paper Nautilus, The Compassion Anthology, Memoir Mixtapes, & District Lit. Joey's character Izzie Hexxam features in The Poetry Society of New York’s Poetry Brothel. A long-time event organizer at Mass Poetry, they plan & execute poetry events at Salem Arts Festival. They also write 100-word reviews as poetry editor for Drunk Monkeys and write a weekly poetry prompt & analysis at JoeyGouldPoetry.wordpress.com



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