In the crisp death of summer, a cat
falls from a broken branch.
The moon sings, amused by paw
half-crushed under the stares of a passing car.
Vacant children drive purposely
through the blaze-maze of gilded cul-de-sacs
scattered with condoms and crushed fireball nips,
numb to clouds adulting overhead.
Outside the bar a couple try to kiss for the first time.
On the fire escape, some woman hums anxiously sweeping.
Waiting, I stare into my scotch
as the glow from an RCA television
and smells of ammonia suffocate the pub.
Above the bar, the moon reflects a rooftop coop.
The pigeon sits upright in its wired grave, cooing
as a priest doubles over.
Ed Gaudet is a writer who lives in Hanover, Massachusetts, where he is a cybersecurity software entrepreneur in healthcare. He has written for Forbes Magazine. His journey with poetry began at an early age and grew during university where he studied under poet Ruth Lepson and was greatly influenced by Robert Creeley. While attending Bentley University, he was the Editor-in-Chief of its literary magazine, Piecework. In 1999, Ed was awarded the grand prize for his poem, “Sitting Shiva,” which appeared in Into the Sun. His work has appeared in The Inflectionist Review, Panoply, Clade Song, and Book of Matches, Lit.
