The Sweetness
Into this forgotten valley, drive deep as you can
with no purpose at all, to a deserted main street
that reflects the light in ramshackle splendor.
Poison ivy, Virginia creeper, sprawl from the cracks
of an asphalt playground where children once tossed
giddy shouts in the air. Drive through downtown
past the empty plate glass of an old Sears store
in a corner lot full of fleabane and thistle.
The people who lived here had a hunger like yours,
a hunger like mine
in the sweetness of time
David Salner worked all over the United States, as iron ore miner, steelworker, librarian, teacher, baseball usher. His recent poetry collections are The Green Vault Heist and Summer Words: New and Selected Poems. His award-winning debut novel is A Place to Hide. His poetry appears in Threepenny Review, North American Review, Hamilton Stone Review, The Moth, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Ploughshares. Connect with David at his website.