What if I didn’t have to get fucked up
didn't want to forget my cares
what if our debt were less stay-or-pay gone
and I sat with you at the feast of time
where the sour rind of your stories
was so sweet sun pouring
eastward through your open apartment door
was a silk of sun-spun sugar pouring
blazing the cluttered table the projects of your life
where we talked, where all the choirs of angels
& all martyrs redeemed
Hampton Luxemburg Zapata Daqqa
What if I sat with you at the feast
of time, which is the passing, your passing
sees us into each other’s arms
Joe Hall is a Buffalo-based writer and researcher. His books of poetry include Buffalo Free Rapid Transit (Black Ocean 2026), Fugue & Strike (Black Ocean 2023), and People Finder, Buffalo (Cloak 2024). Current Affairs on Fugue & Strike: “a remarkable poetic project, unlike anything else in literature today.” Hall has performed and delivered talks nationally at bars, squats, universities, and rivers. Protean, The Cleveland Review of Books, Eighteen-Century Fiction, Poetry Daily, Fence Digital, mercury firs, dollar bills, and an NFTA bus shelter have all featured his writing. He has taught community-based writing workshops for teachers, teens, and workers. Community Mausoleum featured his essay “PEN America: Cultural Imperialism’s Avant-Garde.” Find more at http://joehalljoehall.com.
the Tuesday poem is curated by rob mclennan
