by Josh Gaydos

Knowing not one of us will see a third jubilee
the prophet instead watches the planes land in Athens,
shade splits the olive tree, trunk splits the clay loam

Knowing the ache in her chest won’t wholly heal
the mother instead watches spokes spin the cul de sac,
her children laugh out the airy road, pedaling snowmelt

Knowing that man could not fly home in flesh
the seamstress instead watches him crash the stolen wings,
embroidery beads, gray stone and marrow

Josh Gaydos (he/him) currently resides in Washington D.C. He is an editor at South Broadway Ghost Society. Josh has been published in Barren Magazine, DIAGRAM, Door Is A Jar Literary Magazine and Roi Fainéant Press. Follow him on X, Bluesky, and Instagram @jgwrites22.