Ahrend Torrey, USA
Two old men argue
about last night’s game;
I smell diesel and oil.
A young man sits
next to me, with his wife
and young boy, then flicks
a half-smoked cigarette
in the sand at our feet.
I look at the back of my lids
and imagine this spot
hundreds of years ago:
lush and tall with pines,
green and thriving.
When I open them,
a stream of cigarette smoke floats
above our feet
and a Snickers wrapper—
time burning and burning
amid two pink barrettes
and a Solo cup.
Ahrend Torrey is a creative writing graduate from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. When he is not writing, or working in New Orleans, he enjoys the simpler things in life, like walking around City Park with his husband, Jonathan, and their two rat terriers Dichter and Dova. Forthcoming this year, his collection of poems, Small Blue Harbor will be available from The Poetry Box Select imprint.