Produced by Dennis Camire
This week’s poem is by Jefferson Navicky of Freeport. His most recent book is “The Paper Coast,” published by Spuyten Duyvil Press.
Chest poem
By Jefferson Navicky
In the house that lives in my chest
there’s a long sloping hallway
and there’s an owl in the kitchen
who serves me cocktails
high in juice for breakfast.
You’d think I’d be happy
but I spend a lot of time
gazing down to the river
which I’ve only now realized
is a ribbon wrapped around
a certain landscape of waiting.
There’s a fish whose name I can’t remember
who lives in this river, a bottom feeder
with a hairy face and a desire to get caught
but nobody seems to be able
to find a way to do the obvious.
These days I hear a lot of talk
about currents and wind and the right
lure to hook the big fish
the bait that allows a big
reel in and if not a trophy
then at least a spot at the table.
But this is not that story. This is
a story of a house and a fish
whose name I cannot know.
I will never be the one to hook him
Dennis Camire can be reached at dcamire@cmcc.edu
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