NIGHT AND DAY
Night
A child cries himself to sleep.
The pain of his injuries fades
as the rough howl of the ambulance
slouches away.
Alone on a black dark porch
with music and booze,
my spiritus mundi,
I will eventually force myself
into a corner
and wait for sleep
to cave in.
Day
The sun is blank and pitiless.
I must rise slowly, cautiously,
and allow the light
to seep in gradually.
My body warms sluggishly.
The night behind me finally,
hunches steadily away.
In a soft corner of morning
the howl of the ambulance
is tempered,
a smooth black stone
close and moving closer
its hour finally come around.
Bio:
John L. Stanizzi is the author of 14 collections, including SEE, POND, Chants, and others. His poems have appeared in Rattle, Prairie Schooner, New York Quarterly, and elsewhere, and Creative Nonfiction has appeared in Stone Coast, After the Pause, and elsewhere. He was a former Wesleyan University Etherington Scholar, New England Poet of the Year, and recipient of a Fellowship in Creative Writing from Connecticut Department of the Arts. His CNF, “Pants,” was Potato Soup Journal’s “Best of 2021.” He won Ekphrastic Review’s “Marathon.” John taught literature and directed theater for 26 years at Manchester Community College and Bacon Academy.
OVUNQUE SIAMO 