Jon Lavieri

Under The Halogen Moon

I want to say desire is the language
of the chronically hopeless
down by the shipyards and diesel tanks
where stuck tendrils of damp hair
wrap around your neck
while you toss your head back and laugh
at everything I can’t finish saying
because you keep touching me instead of listening,
hugging my thigh with your thighs
and I’m trying to say we are what
fire dreams at the beginning of a fire
up against the trunk of somebody’s car
in this clawing emergency tasting salt
from the hollow at the base of your throat
and how are we standing up
and lying down at the same time
as if I could fill your body with shooting stars

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Jon Lavieri holds an MFA in writing from Western Michigan University. His poems have appeared in Anacapa Review, New York Quarterly, unlost, Naugatuck River Review, and elsewhere. His new poems come after a long hiatus while living overseas and centering his focus on making music. He lives in Rhode Island and teaches English and writing to immigrants.

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