Turning away from
dreams
of worlds where nothing is too taboo
where you own more
than you ever could or should
and despite your warm sleepy brain’s whispered
give it up, give all of it up
invitations to stay
where the only things that make sense
are the senses
you decide to wake
leaving
mumbling empty promises that
one day
you’ll stay.
Adam Breier is a Yonkers, NY based poet and educator. He is the author of the forthcoming poetry collection Mumbled Promises (The Poetry Lighthouse, 2027) in which the poem published here will also appear. Adam’s work has appeared in: Three Panels Press, The Northeast Coast, The West 4th, Willows Wept Review, Azarão Literary Journal, friends of friends, Mad Persona Magazine, Broken Stone Review, Thistle and Thread Press, Bristol Noir, and So It Goes: The Kurt Vonnegut Library Literary Journal, among others. You can follow Adam on Instagram @adam_breier_poetry or at adambreier.com.
The Orange Rose 