Two Poems by Joseph Spece

us

Together in clothing markets

a dewy haze   , petrichor      ,
& flouncy sleeves like fronds           .

Oilcans full of chai!
Insects blooming in hosiery!

Six doors slide back to a beach.

We link thighs in pink boutiques my boy
& shopkeeps linger   ,

& shopkeeps tend a stand of hives.

A lover like you lets me

try on abstract patterns and coasts ,

waving with dolls from the trellis—

boiling seas about                 ,           sometimes blue

& ships like swans asleep.

 

 

belmont ave

beneath a lake of tapwater today I found a gourd just like
the fat blighted birds in my dreams, blighted darkgreen,
streams oozing down its back while a knotty beak leans
over the slit and writes is this the road upstairs     ,child

 

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About the Author:

Joseph Spece took degrees from Boston College and Columbia University. He’s founding editor at Fathom Books and author of the volumes BAD ZOO (Fathom, 2018) and Roads (Cherry Grove, 2013). Recent periodical publications include amberflora, DIAGRAM, Volt, and Best American Experimental Writing.