Joey Gould

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