The Prettiest Girl in Dickson, Tennessee
can run her fingers
along the rough edges of a used tire
in the time it takes you
to check for a wedding ring
instead of playing with dolls
or imaginary horses
she fixed cars with her father
until the streetlights came on
until his lungs gave out
in the summer of 93
the wind torn loose from his body
like the seeds of a dandelion in spring
you study her hands
in the right light
everyone seems fragile
like an old tire
swinging from the heart
of a dying oak tree
taking its last breath
burning memories
from the inside out.
____________
Megan Can’t See the River
blind 6 months after we finished high school
with an illness that gives and takes away
i wonder where you are now
did you ever get to teach a single class
or rest your tired pom poms
along a quiet river bank
these days i take stock of little things
in the morning i write a poem
about making oatmeal
as a tribute
to the days
when there was none
a few words buried
a faded picture
taken by a river
that never existed
a small price to pay
for everything we leave behind
hair flying
out the car window
i close my eyes
& you’re gone.
____________
The Ghost of Jacob Johanson
walks into a bowling alley
wearing a flannel
like a portal to 1994
things were simpler then
there were more highways
you could take
to disappear.
John Dorsey lived for several years in Toledo, Ohio. He is the author of several collections of poetry, including Teaching the Dead to Sing: The Outlaw’s Prayer (Rose of Sharon Press, 2006), Sodomy is a City in New Jersey (American Mettle Books, 2010), Tombstone Factory, (Epic Rites Press, 2013), Appalachian Frankenstein (GTK Press, 2015) Being the Fire (Tangerine Press, 2016) and Shoot the Messenger (Red Flag Poetry, 2017),Your Daughter’s Country (Blue Horse Press, 2019), and Which Way to the River: Selected Poems 2016-2020 (OAC Books, 2020). His work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and the Stanley Hanks Memorial Poetry Prize. He was the winner of the 2019 Terri Award given out at the Poetry Rendezvous. He may be reached at archerevans@yahoo.com.