She loves the idea of free floating words, the scritch
of pencil on paper, mute declarations. Writing her
first love; a life story, long walks in manicured parks,

dayglow shopping sprees to the Big Apple, celebrity
sightings at the Russian Tea Room; how she remembers
the spark in his eyes right before he kissed her. She writes

her mother; their five-room house, sharp midwestern
winds, brother gone to war, father’s metal belt buckle. 
She writes Rob; tells only small lies, ones that don’t

matter, the ones he knows by heart but never mentions.
She signs them with her initials, Forever yours, Regards,
Thinking of you; folds them into neat rectangles, razor

-edged precise; she lovingly bundles them in ribbon.
Knotted and ready to stash in her closet, she’s learned
to live between the lines.

---

Alex Stolis has had poems published in numerous journals. Two full length collections Pop. 1280, and John Berryman Died Here were released by Cyberwit and available on Amazon. His work has previously appeared or is forthcoming in Piker’s Press, Ekphrastic Review, Louisiana Literature Review, Burningwood Literary Journal, and Star 82 Review. His chapbook, Postcards from the Knife-Thrower’s Wife, was released by Louisiana Literature Press in 2024, RIP Winston Smith from Alien Buddha Press 2024, and The Hum of Geometry; The Music of Spheres, 2024by Bottlecap Press. He lives in upstate New York with his partner, poet Catherine Arra.