By James King
PROMPT — Who am I today?
Words store memories
in pro-and-con columns.
They wait, a cat stalking
a squirrel, spotted paw
raised and still, statuesque,
visibly invisible, waiting
to strike when attention
reaches its nadir,
vulnerability its peak.
Such violence.
Why not dayborn
instead of daybreak,
nightrise
instead of nightfall?
The curtain slowly dissipates:
new life, new loss,
and no turning back.
James King’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in The Dillyduon Review, The Thieving Magpie, OpenDoor Poetry Magazine, Oddville Press, Big City Lit, and The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Crowstep Poetry Journal, and BarBar Literary Magazine. He is also the author of the award-winning novel, Bill Warrington’s Last Chance (Viking/Penguin 2010). James holds a BA in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in writing from Manhattanville College. He lives in Wilton, Connecticut, USA.