Harmattan

Harmattan

(from) the Northwest Coast of Africa
a desert wind carrying sand
or the sedimentary deposits
where Harlem meets Manhattan

-blighted, they say, but none the less
concave scaffolding could never completely veil
the ebb of damp brown eyes cutting
from bug-eyed hipsters to suits in stilts

lessons grumble from benches in low resonant tones:
you gotta respect the rules
you gotta respect where you live
and in case you have not yet realized:

the sea receded long before the sands invasion.
in fact, one buried the other
by crushing mountains in the wake of it’s gaze.

press your ears against the shell of a brownstone
and you may hear its haunting:
i’m not here.
i’m not what i used to be,

and in time, the derelict licks
of a summer wind will claim you too.

-Winston Scarlett

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Nocturnal

Nocturnal – a Poem by Jordan Topf

Nocturnal.
Weird dinners and abnormal
Conversations a plenty, they drank me dry
White wine and talks of the summertime
The distant smiles but you sit by my side
You’re so far from my mind and I need it to be that way
The nightingale sprung from the branch space
And gave to me wise songs in which to play
Do not reside for her unless you want her
Grinding my molars, heartbeats,
And all into one cascading tragedy
Of lost cause one-sided coke table fixers
You try so hard to write your life into beauty
It will not be the way you planned
The distant smiles by my side
So far from my mind do I need it to stay?
The nightingale sprung from the branch space
And gave to me wise words to sing
Dark black stones exposed collarbones
Love dare I say in the night
Vanishing over time gently into the abyss of
Your crazed state of mind
Do I ever want this to happen again?
Not in a lifetime.

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