“Like that dog receiving /and only in the moment of receiving /feeling a reprieve from wanting.”
Poetry
High Beams
"I keep mum about my boyfriend /and forget Mom’s /mood swings & blood /on the carpeted floor."
“I keep mum about my boyfriend /and forget Mom’s /mood swings & blood /on the carpeted floor.”
“What does it mean to die?” Aren asks
"What do you think it means? I ask. /It means you finally grow up, he says"
“What do you think it means? I ask. /It means you finally grow up, he says”
Everyone but Him Dies in the Sequel
"when someone mentions /the president’s name, /coffee cups tap dance /in saucers, splash sewage, /some shuffle like Gene Kelly /dressed grunge"
“when someone mentions /the president’s name, /coffee cups tap dance /in saucers, splash sewage, /some shuffle like Gene Kelly /dressed grunge”
Men Don’t Cry
"Only then did I sneak to the garage workbench, /that sweet reek of oil & cedar dust, /to hold my fingertips in the pliers' teeth & squeeze"
*** Read more of Kirk Schlueter’s poetry. Interested in submitting poetry to The Good Men Project? Check out our guidelines. Photo by Sean/Flickr
What It Feels Like to Die
"From somewhere below, the leaping of a cat /off a high surface, now skittering across the floor. /Then someone says a name you recognize"
“From somewhere below, the leaping of a cat /off a high surface, now skittering across the floor. /Then someone says a name you recognize”
The Jehovah’s Witness Soldier
"The last we see of the kid /Whatever expression /Is on his face /Hombre, that’s not fear"
“The last we see of the kid /Whatever expression /Is on his face /Hombre, that’s not fear”
Our Language
"My eyes find the space /crickets can’t fill, /between where /words end and /skin meets skin."
“My eyes find the space /crickets can’t fill, /between where /words end and /skin meets skin.”
All I Can Give
"a whole dumb ecosystem /flowering between us"
“a whole dumb ecosystem /flowering between us”
Prayers to the God of Jihadists
"Oh, one of your gifts killed my only son – /my one seed wasted in the drought of this desert. /Are you sure you are the same as our One?"
“Oh, one of your gifts killed my only son – /my one seed wasted in the drought of this desert. /Are you sure you are the same as our One?”
Personal Geography
"But how can I draw this map? /Easier for me to unpeel my brain’s soft folds /than chart the land that made me, spun itself /into my body until I cry aloud at my face in mirrors: Illinois."
“But how can I draw this map? /Easier for me to unpeel my brain’s soft folds /than chart the land that made me, spun itself /into my body until I cry aloud at my face in mirrors: Illinois.”
When I Fly Too Close to the Sun I Don’t Smell Melting Wax
"I did not ask for a father as an inventor but he could /rig a fire pit or a cane fishing pole just the same /He concocted the formula for my wings by making me /feel free"
“I did not ask for a father as an inventor but he could /rig a fire pit or a cane fishing pole just the same /He concocted the formula for my wings by making me /feel free”
Lost Owner’s Manual for the Soul
"A prism /makes a fair-to-middling talisman. /They are the heat waves /in the rainbow"
“A prism /makes a fair-to-middling talisman. /They are the heat waves /in the rainbow”
Shade
"It is a great power, the conjuring of clouds, /and as such should not be used as a party trick, /but here I am daily spinning them, proud, /throwing shade like a habit"
“It is a great power, the conjuring of clouds, /and as such should not be used as a party trick, /but here I am daily spinning them, proud, /throwing shade like a habit”
From What My Father Said
"Mostly I remember the side-gate. /The busted-wheel and steel-grind sound— /Metal’s rusted speech. /...You shook w"hen it opened."
“Mostly I remember the side-gate. /The busted-wheel and steel-grind sound— /Metal’s rusted speech. /…You shook w”hen it opened.”
Child Painting a Dog
"She is painting a picture of the dog. /She has not looked at the dog all day. /Sitting across from her in the sunlight of the kitchen, /her uncle winces at the singing."
“She is painting a picture of the dog. /She has not looked at the dog all day. /Sitting across from her in the sunlight of the kitchen, /her uncle winces at the singing.”