Poem by Lo Galluccio

In Your Absence
A poem in five parts

The coffee will only make me sleepy
False hope arrow night
To convenience caffeine.
Or is it just my luck
Have to walk the imaginary dog.
She’s a numb beast and sacrificial lamb.
My dog, not loquacious
Like Jean Dany’s in the black
Box theatre in a beautiful
Creole bombast.
My dog loves the yellow moon
But is afraid to howl.
My howl is wind crossing
“t’s” on this page.

The last I heard
“Hey darlin’” on a voice mail
Was your blue-eyed bass voice
Saying you was on a train
From San Diego to L.A.
It was that gold Eagle you saw
Stuck my mind with his honor
Obama as Mr. Spock now
After we sat through previews
Of machines killing humans
Obama as the celebrity catalyst
Solidly watching Star Trek
With his kids with whom
He eats dinner every night, almost.

You left me a China Doll plant
And a toy pony with black and white
Apaloosa marks.
You left me voice mail messages
About Santa Fe signs
On trains headed North past
The Pacific. I am alone
On a windy Memorial Day weekend.
The wind is like sand
I cannot see
Building tunnels and bridges
Back to you
Cold-hot sign of
The Vulcan, Captain Jim.

Vanilla CVS candle still burning
Vanilla cupcake cappuccino
Machine drink
Swirls my tongue with sugar
Pixels –
Pops open the opiate receptors –
To shimmy,
I can inhale more poetry past
Midnight. The dog ran away
In the dark.
She didn’t understand
How much I wanted
Her tail-wagging black fur
And loyalty love.

I’m your China doll
Plant; the girlfriend in a pot;
Moonlight and earth smells
Nurture me gently
With a sugary tide of fondness
For you.
Passionate kisses under the moon
Will have to wait til your return
The eagle flies on Sunday.
The blue heron winks at you.
On this planet oxygen rules.
In and out
Like sex
And breath.

Lo Galluccio is a poet, memoirist and vocal artist whose chapbooks include Hot Rain, Terrible Baubles, and the prose poem memoir Sarasota VII, all of which are available at the Grolier Poetry Bookshop in Cambridge and through her website. She has been nominated for three Pushcart awards and is currently serving as the 4th Poet Populist of Cambridge.

Two-time Pushcart Prize and Kentucky Poet Laureate nominee, Sheri L. Wright is the author of six books of poetry, including the most recent, The Feast of Erasure. Wright’s visual work has appeared in numerous journals, including Blood Orange Review and Subliminal Interiors. Her photography has been shown across the Ohio Valley region and abroad. Currently, she is working on her first documentary film, Tracking Fire.