by Larry D. Thacker
Dawn on the strip
after Rimbaud’s “Aube”
I hugged the dawn as it peeked around
the corner of East Street. the red light
blinked, smudged the curling mist lipstick red.
a hiss of steam crawled from a sidewalk crack.
puddle-mirrors winked, waiting for my ripples.
I unstacked the ochre shadows in the underpass,
dragged the cold to the riverwalk,
unfurled and scattered the dark and murk.
stumbling onto the gem-glittered strip,
I brushed the hem of a turmeric sunbeam.
the dawn stretched her arms to me as I walked
toward her. beside me saffron shutters clapped open.
along the strip cars unpeeled their high notes.
the Greyhound loped along the blacktop.
I’m ready, I whispered, I’m here at last,
mantle me in your gown of flush and fever.
the billboard goddess smiled as the scaffold
of the morning slowly ignited her corn-yellow veins.
Phil Powarie is a UK-based former academic who taught cinema studies. His work has been published in Blue Unicorn, Green Ink Poetry, La Piccioletta Barca, The Lincoln Review, Lotus Eater, morphrog, October Hill, Orchard Poetry Journal, Shot Glass Journal, South, amongst others.
Larry D. Thacker is a Kentuckian writer, artist, educator, and reality actor, hailing from Johnson City, TN. His poetry and fiction can be found in over 200 publications. His MFA in poetry and fiction is earned from West Virginia Wesleyan College. Check out his website at: www.larrydthacker.com