In one evening we are on
a shoreline by the black sea
that has no black sand
or water or anything like that
except sometimes sky and we
can make it romantic even if
we got chased by nazis after
going into one of their shops
accidentally and I was very
scared for you not only
because of your Jewishness
but predominately because
of how distracted you were
with the material of what
was around your thumb hovering
by a small keychain or something
of the like
Even so when we were
running we were mostly
alone in a way that made me
think we’d stay tan for
the rest of our lives yet
winter is always now
and my skin is falling
off my hands
like the blowing sand and
I’m the one with all the
job rejections a person could get
And we’ve both gained weight
more so me than you
it’s all a good thing because
we are getting comfortable
and
the sun is getting brighter
every year
which we saw on Mount Eden
once
on top of the mountain
and even though I was pissed
in the moment and sleep
deprived, I wish we didn’t cheat
on the mountain and instead
climbed it up ourselves the
way you’re supposed to,
but in the end it was a good
call because we had a good
chat on the bus ride there,
didn’t we?
Noah Sparrow has been recently exiled from Montreal and is now based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His chapbook SPECTACLE/SPECTATOR is out with above/ground press, and a second, Here I am Dying at an Average Pace, is forthcoming with Cactus Press in late 2026. He has work published with The Fiddlehead and has been shortlisted for the Montreal International Poetry Prize. You can find him at noahsparrow.com
the Tuesday poem is curated by rob mclennan
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