Paul Ilechko
Formerly the Dark Earth
It used to be a farm but now now I’m not
sure, what it is anymore the new owner has wide
tires and greasepaint and his reflection seems to
follow him everywhere he goes there are blue
shadows edging into purple as the sun disappears
into the true darkness of a trailer park there
is a crosshatching of foliage that fills in the mystery
of evening there where it lingers above the coffee-
ground dirt of the river bank as a child I led
with my right foot not through fear but
because I thought I knew where to find the truth
I had coins jangling in my pockets stolen from
the collection plate and there we sat all together
in the abandoned car with its shattered windshield
trying to listen to the whistle of the wind above
the full-throated roar of the missing engine.
Channels
I tried every channel digital or analog
in my attempt to track you down
I fished every river within a hundred miles
of your last known whereabouts
with no success the wriggling invertebrates
still suffering on the sharpness
of a hook the meat of offering
seemingly unacceptable or you were gone
to some place far removed from here
the dream of another country a fire-gleam
of sunlight from the summer of a far-flung
time zone a land perhaps
of earthquakes and cracking stucco
where bullet holes still mark the trajectory
of long ago battles I posted images
at every intersection your photograph
from an impossible age with no response
where are you
mother
where are you now
as your youth comes into focus your old age
fades away oblivious to time.
Paul Ilechko is a British/American poet. Born in South Yorkshire, he now lives with his partner in Lambertville, NJ. His work has appeared in a variety of journals, including The Night Heron Barks, Louisiana Literature, Iron Horse Literary Review, Sleet Magazine, and The Inflectionist Review. His first album, "Meeting Points", was released in 2021.